


Bug Bites

by Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Anger, Arguing, Awkward Romance, Blood and Gore, Cute, Dirty Thoughts, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Insults, Other, Regret, Slow Burn, Survival, The Author Regrets Nothing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 14:41:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19814422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves/pseuds/Needs_to_stop_looking_at_valves
Summary: What I would've LOVED to see from the transformers animated episode, "Predicons rising"! Sentinel and Blackarachnia are forced to survive in the wild together, simultaneously avoiding lions, tigers, bears, and Waspinator, oh my!Past feelings get involved, and old things get dug up from the soil of time. Will we have a storybook ending? Or were they doomed from the start?





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Little note here guys! I regret everything and nothing i do. And unlike most of my fics, this'll switch perspectives between the main characters, Blackarachnia and Sentinel. This, and "Along came a bee", will be alternated in production. Hope you enjoy!

55 solar cycles. 55, and all that time, he never had to deal with such slag. He should be back on Cybertron, making fems swoon and showing up Ultra Magnus, as well as the rest of the council. But no. No, he was stuck here, on this giant ball of dirt, infested with these organics, chasing after Wasp. Chasing after bad guys itself wasn't much of a pain, if anything it was a thrill, a reason why he signed up to be a member of Cybertron's finest. What WAS a pain however, was dealing with Optimus and his team. His band of malfunctioning losers, each and every one of them. First you had that yellow, annoying, puny little punk. Blabbermouth, and not even fit to be a service drone. And his buddy, the green one, big as primus and dumber than a rock. Their medic, moody, and the most outdated model he's ever seen. And the ninja, weird, and has some hard on for organic life. If it weren't for his capabilities as a fighter, he'd be the worst of the bunch. He wasn't though. The honor of that title went to his old friend, Optimus. A good for nothing, cocky, quitter. The rest of his team, pests that they were, never gave up. And for that, he had the smallest sliver of respect for them. But Optimus? That waste of energon wasn't worthy to lick the mud off his pedes. One thing Sentinel absolutely hated, more than anything? Was a quitter. And Optimus was the biggest quitter he's ever known. He gave up on something that meant the universe to both of them. Someone. Was it an odd thought? Maybe. Especially when he was currently flooring it down an alley, trying to apprehend Wasp. As Wasp skidded to a halt, Sentinel transformed out of vehicle mode, wielding his skyboom lance.

"Put it in park, Wasp! Now!!"

"Sorry sarge bot! Wasp not park. How about...reverse?!"

The madbot floored it in reverse, and he found himself with barely able to dodge out of his path. Just great. A criminal with no care for another bots finish. As he skidded away, giggling like something was hilarious, he was stopped by Optimus's yellow pet. He pulled out his stinger, but didn't get the chance to halt him, before he pulled a 180, and floored it in the other direction. Wasp didn't make it far till the Jettwins stood in his path. They scared him enough till he pulled another reverse, and hit the right, being blocked by Optimus. Yet again, he backed it up, and hit the gas in the only empty street. At least, he THOUGHT it was empty. Good ol' Sentinel was here, skyboom shield & lance at the ready, less he try any more funny business. Finally, he had the criminal cornered. Just slap on the stasis cuffs, take him back to the stockade, get all the praise he rightfully deserved. Wasp seemed to realize he was deep in the slag, given that he transformed back into bot mode. He looked for possible means of escape, but of course, he had none. Those purple optics met his own, and, sounding clearly desperate, he spoke.

"Wasp NEVER go back to stockade!! Neveeeeerrr!"

Sentinel didn't really know what kind of bot Wasp was before the stockade (apparently he was a part of his boot camp? How was he supposed to remember these losers when he was so busy defending Cybertron?), but he had a feeling he wasn't like this before the stockade. He'd definitely remember a bot acting like that, had he really been under his tutelage before. Guilt must've really messed with the old professor. Before he could nab him, Optimus of course, butted in. His signature deal was the hero, valiant, Magnus worthy in stature. Optimus's signature? Coming into his life and ruining EVERYTHING. 

"You're not going back, Wasp! The spy charges against you were dropped!"

What was with this mech, and saying he was innocent? He wasn't even tried in a court of law yet. Leave it to Optimus, feeling like he was everyone's little hero. He pointed his lance at Optimus, and gave a glare.

"Stay out of this, Optimus. This is a dangerous fugitive, and I'M bringing him in!!"

Wasp took two steps back, clearly growing anxious. Which wouldn't be happening if he already had cuffs slapped on him.

"Stay back,or I'll kick ALL your skid plates!!"

He pulled out his stingers, glancing this way and that way. A nervous fugitive was dangerous enough. Dangerous and armed? Was a recipe for disaster. Wasp's yellow look alike gave a small smile, looking back and forth between the primes.

"Guys, let me handle this, please?"

Something in Sentinel's spark told him this wasn't the best idea. But already having the okay from Optimus, he went off, slowly approaching Wasp, hands lifted up a little, to try to calm the bot.

"Easy Waspy...it's not us you're mad at. That would be Longarm. HE'S the bot who pinned that phoney spying charge on you in the first place! I just...you know. Believed him."

Wasp gave a judgemental look, and before Sentinel could do the right thing(making him shut the hell up), he kept going.

"A-and you wanna hear the funny part? Guess who the REAL decepticon spy was. Can you guess? No? Ah ha ha! It's really f-It's Longarm! Longarm was the spy, not you! And I TOTALLY fell for it! Can you believe-AH!"

Sentinel honestly didn't blame Wasp for brandishing his weapon at him. He was very tempted to do the same thing, but he fought the urge. If there was one thing Sentinel could totally do, it was focus on the objective. Though, the fact that he felt it was okay to not only hide behind him, and TOUCH him? With his organic infested mitts? Ugh. He wanted to bathe in acid. He'd give the minibot one thing though, he agreed with him.

"Hate to say it, but Sentinel's got a point. I'd feel much safer with Wasp behind bars."

Wasp gave a shot, but it was easily deflected by his shield. He was contemplating just dashing over and knocking Wasp out with his shield, when Optimus, just kept testing his damn boundaries.

"That's NOT your call to make, Bumblebee."

He wished that Wasp's sting made its target. Damn axe. Everything about Optimus was just so damn annoying.

"And it's not YOUR call to make either, Optimus. I'M in command!"

"On Cybertron! This planet is MY jurisdiction!"

Another reflect of Wasp's attack. Never thought he'd see himself rooting for the bad bot in a situation. He may not be able to come over there and put him in his place, like he had every right to, but he could at least beat him in this argument. 

"But this is a cybertronian fugitive. And I'll enforce MY authority as the uh...primer prime!"

Nailed it. And with another deflect to boot.

"Did you just make that up?"

Another deflect.

"No!"

"There's no such thing as a Primer prime!"

"It's a real term, look it up."

Like hell he was gonna let this drop out tell him what was and what wasn't a real term. 

"I'm not gonna look it up!"

"Afraid I'm right?"

Course he was afraid. As the lesser prime, he had every right to respect his authority. The yellow bot (who was 'Bumblebee' apparently. What a stupid name) tried to get a word in edge wise, probably trying to defend his loser of a leader.

"Uh...guys? Primes? Sirs? Uh-"

"It doesn't matter! We have a dangerous fugitive!"

"Uh...no we don't."

"Hey, I thought you agreed with me."

He was gonna turn and call him an oil puddle for being so disloyal to his primer prime, when he realized why Bumblebee was right. Wasp was no longer standing right in the middle of them all. Bumblebee pointed down the street.

"I MEANT he's getting away!!"

And there Wasp was, totally booking it on pede. Before he could even think to transform and dash in after him, the universe proved that it was full of slag. One of those...dinobots? That's probably the right name. One of the dinobots, the flying one, literally swooped in, and grabbed him, flying off into the distance, with Wasp clearly not enjoying it.

"Birdie bot...let go of Wasp!!"

Of course. Because dealing with team prime moron just wasn't enough. No big deal, it wasn't anything a primer prime couldn't handle. He took a minute to absorb how unfair this was, when he heard the duel clanging of the twins pedes. When they looked up at him for instructions, he rolled his optics. As much as he enjoyed being the envy of their optics, it was annoying, these two dunder drones not taking initiative. 

"Well don't stand there with your pistons in your servos, follow them!!!"

At least they obeyed commands promptly. Unfortunately, they appeared to be useless in this situation, given that their attacks didn't land, especially not in a timely manner. You think they'd know to hit it BEFORE the rest of them ran out of road to follow it on. They rolled up to the pier, watching the winged abomination make off with his fugitive. Could this day, possibly get any worse? Once he was back on Cybertron, he was gonna petition to have this planet wiped clean, stripped of minerals and metals. This mud ball caused nothing but trouble. He transformed, and turned, glaring at Optimus.

"If you hadn't interfered, we could've nabbed him."

Then of course, big mouth prime, just HAD to argue against him, like HE was the bad mech.

"If YOU hadn't interfered, we could've talked him into surrendering!"

"Oh right, after he slagged motor mouth here."

He pointed towards Bumblebee, to emphasize his point. Optimus was as careless with his teammates as he's always been. Some bots never change. Growing more and more tired of how difficult this simple nab was getting. He turned on his comm link, fighting every urge to groan into it.

"Jetfire, Jetstorm, grapple!"

The idea of the grapple was his. Sometimes the twins would be off on a flight, and just lose themselves. They really couldn't even fix their damn paint without his leadership. Sad really. But at least they were disposable. Yet, despite how good of an idea it was, Optimus just HAD to complain about it. When he got back, he swore he was gonna have this whiney prime knocked from his pedestal.

"No Sentinel, wait! You don't wanna follow that thing!"

"Oh yeah? Watch me."

He folded his arms, and let himself be whisked off, to Optimus's clear displeasure. Though what he said, as he was being carried off, definitely caught his attention, at least for a klik.

"But there's something you need to know first!!"

Course, couldn't be that important, coming from Optimus. He merely wanted hear himself speak. Pathetic really. 

"Save it for the court marshal!!"

That sure told him. And he was completely serious about it, no more mr. Nice bot. Speaking of mr.Nice bot, bird brain disappeared, hiding in the foliage of some island. He pointed towards the small plot of land, speaking loudly enough to be heard over the twin roaring engines.

"That flying freak bot disappeared somewhere on that island!"

Incoming com link.

He opened the call, and was about to blow an absolute gasket when he heard just who in the pitt it was.

"Optimus to Sentinel! Do not pursue to the island, repeat, do not pursue to the island, I'll explain later."

With a groan, he pushed his audial fin, hanging up on the transmission. 

"Ugh, that does it. Im putting a block on that cyber clowns frequency. Now take me down there, maximum burn!"

"But Sentinel prime, sir-"

"Don't talk! Just listen and do! You might actually learn something!"

Damn rookies. Always thinking they have a say in an order. When he said maximum burn, he meant maximum burn. He grinned smugly once they obeyed, dipping low and cranking up the speed. However, the smile was washed away from his face rather quickly. Literally, as he suddenly felt waves after waves of earth liquid ('water', he was sure it was called. Much colder, clear stuff, unlike oil lakes or energon rivers), crash upon his face. Stuff hit you like a punch to the face, and it only made him hate this planet even more. When he actually felt water get in his intake, he had just about enough.

"Ugh!! Let me go, you numbnodes!!"

"Okay, Sentinel Prime, sir!"

Maybe he should've been more specific, given that they let him go immediately, launching him right into the sand, with enough throttle to bury his helm. Maybe...a little more. Given that all he could see and taste was darkness, and couldn't pull his arms away from the sediments, he could assume the sand had taken over his upper body. He thrashed his legs wildly, hoping it'd be enough to wedge him free. Thankfully, he didn't have to demean himself to asking the twins for help, and managed to get himself free, spitting out the salty, grainy sand. Primus, who knows how many organics scurried across it? Ugh, he wanted to wash his mouth out. He dusted himself off, and tried not to verbally beat down these two nitwits.

"Would you two quit grinding your gears, and get me a reading on that fugitive?"

"Energy signature has gone to under the ground."

"But is BIG power reading in center of island."

"Then what are you WAITING for? Let's move!"

They honed in on the signal, and soon enough, Sentinel found the source of the power signal. The dinobots. The abomination combination of cybertronian energy, human technology, all wrapped up and given such primitive brains, that only one of them can talk. They appeared to be guarding the cave entrance, which was a passage to an underground area. And, most likely, the ONLY way down. No clue as to why they were guarding the passage, or why they seemed so determined to do so, but either way, he didn't trust it.

"Right, okay, here's the plan. Give me a few nanokliks to get into position, then create a diversion to draw them away from the entrance."

He saw them nod, then scurried into position behind a tree. He could take on the dinobots himself, if he really wanted to, but he'd be much better use cuffing Wasp, rather than focusing on these fire breathing goliaths. Besides, good combat training for the boys anyway. Thankfully they did their job well, given that they had the flyer following them, the sturdy one unconscious, and the biggest one, Grimlock apparently, following after Jetstorm. He double checked for any other enemy, before he dashed to the cave entrance. Only one was left here, and although unconscious, he wasn't completely sure. He pointed his lance at him, and gave him a bit of a push, causing more rocks to fall upon him. Damn straight he couldn't handle him.

"Too fast for ya, horn head."

Course he was. Wait till the fems back home heard about this. He hurried inside, shield and lance at the ready. He was beyond prepared to finally get the cuffs on Wasp, and go home. He waited for the elevator to stop, and once it did, he rolled himself into the room, lance pointed outward. If he was gonna catch a baddie, he was gonna look damn fine doing it. But there didn't appear to be anyone here. At least, not that he could see. What he DID see, were these tall, metal capsules, that were surging immense amounts of power. Random electronic devices surging with power? Usually not a good sign.

"Wasp?"

It'd make sense that Wasp would be in...whatever the pitt this thing is. His energy signal was last tracked down here, and it was activated. Question was, why were the dinobots guarding the place? And who made this? Wasp, according to his records, wasn't exactly a technical bot, and at most, could fix his leg in a scuffle and do basic machine maintenance. This stuff looked very calculated and precise. So who could've-

"No. Spider."

He snapped attention to the sound of the voice, and his spark pulse quickened fast enough to be a car alarm. A big, purple, organic...spider. Of all the things he had to deal with today, on this planet, it had to be a spider. He'd rather go through the whole day again, and deal with every bit of slag, than deal with one single spider.

"I-I don't know what kind of weird, organic horror you are… but if Wasp is inside that giant tin can, I want him NOW!"

"Full of yourself as ever, eh Sentinel?"

He was almost fully distracted by the way its...mouth...thingies moved, versus its actual words. However, one thing did click. His own name. 

"You ...know me?"

Sentinel may not have Percy like memory, but he was pretty damn sure he'd remember meeting a giant, purple spider. That could talk. And to his amazement, transform. Into...a cybertronian. 

"I did. Once."

"A robot...with an ORGANIC mode?….ewwwww."

Primus sakes. How could this bot live itself? Er...herself, now that he got a good look at her frame. Shame. Had she been normal, she'd be quite the catch. Unfortunately, she wasn't ANYTHING like a normal cybertronian. He shook his helm a little.

"There's no WAY I'd have anything to do with a mutant freak like you!"

Then she walked towards him. Her saunter would've wooed him, had he ever had his standards so damn low.

"That's not what you said when you dragged me along to your little treasure hunt on a decepticon warship. You remember."

And he did. No matter how much he wanted to forget, he couldn't. Sure he could visit a Mnemosurgeon, get him to pluck the memories from his mind, but he wanted to keep it. If he ever forgot, Optimus would be off the hook for what happened. Off the hook...for Elita. The spider bot kept talking as the memories flashed in front of him, like some sick horror film.

"You remember...the one with the unstable energon cubes? And the SPIDERS?!"

There was something about how she barked that word at him. Something about the hate in her voice...that made it click. It was so jarring, so absolutely insane of an idea, that he had to step back, and point at her.

"Elita one?"

"It's Blackarachnia now, Sentinel. Thanks to you and Optimus." 

"But I…"

His sentence trailed off as he absorbed it all. Elita. The part of their trio that went missing for so long...was here. Changed. Altered. Unrecognizable. And...angry. He wasn't some organic whisperer or anything, but a bot with functioning optics could see that this wasn't exactly a happy reunion. 

"Thought you...went offline."

And she smiled at him. Primus he remembered that smile. Though the lips were no longer metallic and green, it was the same smile. The smile she gave him when he asked for test answers. The smile she gave him when she beat him in a sparring match. That he totally let her have.

"Well, at least you two got your stories straight."

So Optimus knew already? Maybe that was what he was trying to warn him about, upon pursuing the island. This was honestly so much like him. Hiding in his mistakes, doing good deeds to make everyone THINK he was a good mech. But he wasn't. He was a quitter. A quitter, a loser, and to him, a traitor. Thanks to him, THIS happened. He wouldn't wish this fate on his enemies, let alone one of his best friends. He kept himself guarded, actually...terrified of this entire situation. He's had some bad nightmares before, but he'd rather go through all of them all over again, than deal with whatever torment this was.

"I never forgave Optimus for leaving you behind. It was HIS idea, you know! A-and Ultra Magnus? H-he wouldn't even let me go back to recover your shell!"

He was stuttering. Every single electrical current in his body was pulsing in fear. Elita-er, Blackarachnia, was here. And he wanted to defend himself. He didn't even care as to whether or not Optimus was off the hook. He just cared that his own story was straight. The last thing he ever wanted to do was leave Elita behind. He thought about her every single solar cycle. And he knew, that to her, it didn't matter.

"Well then. I guess no bot is innocent."

She even shook her helm using her whole body, just like Elita did. Something about that...only made him more anxious.

"Whoo I-I just never knew...I never...imagined...something THIS...unspeakable, could've happened to you. How can you even LIVE like that? I-I mean, it's horrible! It's DISGUSTING!"

"Okay okay! I get it! It's BAD!"

She even waved her hand like Elita would. What WAS bad so long ago, was her messing up her paint job, being caught up in a new fashion trend. This? Was not even remotely CLOSE to being bad. It's why her next words...infuriated him.

"But it's not THAT bad, alright?"

What was WITH everyone?! Why was everyone not freaking out about this like he was? Why was she just treating this like she just had a rust patch on her face? This wasn't at all like that! She was a mutant! A freak! An absolute ABOMINATION. She was NOTHING like the Elita he knew. She wasn't a bot to him anymore. It was a monster. A monster, that wanted to replace her. But he wasn't going to let it. No organic, was taking HIS friend.

"No. It's worse. You should've gone offline."

Just as he lifted up his skyboom lance, ready to put an end to this things life, ready to rid it of its sorry excuse for an existence, the machine started going wild on him, blazing a green light, bright enough to make him almost go blind.

"The transwarp field! It's overloading!"

The machine buzzed. It screeched, it hissed, and finally, it completely exploded, covering the room in a cloud of gray smoke. It not only gave them the lovely smell of malfunctioning metal, but it gave them a nice little bonus. A big, bad, gross, green organic. It zoomed out of the smoke, landed right in front of them, and transformed, introducing itself via clicks and hisses. Then...it spoke. This giant, green pest, spoke.

"Hello, sarge bot."

Sentinel felt a chill go up his spinal ridge. No. No way. It couldn't be.

"Is that...THING...Wasp?"

"Wasp not thing...Wasp upgraaaaade."

He REALLY didn't appreciate that Wasp felt the need to be mere inches in front of his face as he said this. Not to mention every time he spoke, the rest of his body seemed to buzz and gurgle. The sound alone was making his spark pulse so fast, he felt like he had to see a medic. Despite how terrifying he looked, however, he knew who he was. Wasp. His fugitive. Ergo, he was still determined to book him. And still furious that someone messed with his prisoner. 

"What have you DONE to him?!"

"Ah cool your crankcase. I just made him techno-organic. Like me."

He felt like bugs were crawling all over his armor when she actually touched Wasp. One thing that was grosser than two bugs? Two bugs TOUCHING each other. Wasp seemed to get a kick out of it however, as he flew off the floor, flying above them, keeping its big, purple, bug optics on Sentinel.

"Spider bot Wasp's friend! Make Wasp POWERFUL. Make Wasp...WASPINATOR!!"

Great. Just great. First his fugitive got taken from him. Then he met this THING trying to be Elita. Now his fugitive is not only bigger, stronger, AND can fly, but he's now got even more of a malfunction in the processor. Oh, and his stingers? Still there. And much more powerful. How did he know? Well, Wasp (er, Waspinator now he supposed) fired a duel attack at him, and BARELY missed his helm. Had he not ducked, he was pretty sure he'd lose his head. He was however, absolutely losing his processor. The creature impersonating Elita, only shrugged, seeming amused more than anything.

"What can I say? It's the next big thing!"

It was disgusting. And he's had just about enough of this. Of IT.

"It's an abomination. Just like you. And I can't allow it."

What kind of bot would he be, allowing this to continue? Allowing this absolute freak to keep living? Elita or not, it shouldn't be allowed to come into being. 

"I can't allow ANY of it."

He wanted to catch Wasp, sure. But this… Waspinator, thing, was no longer Wasp. Unfortunately, he had failed in his pursuit. This was no longer a bounty mission to him, but an extermination. It was the only right thing to do. Luckily for them, his lance was sharp. It'd be quick. Painless. At least, that's what he thought, before it spoke. This thing had to be deadly, but this was a type of pain that couldn't be fixed with all the medics in the world. A pain in the spark.

"So that's it, huh? You're just gonna slag your old friend, Elita one?"

How dare it. How dare it even know of her? It had no right. No rhyme or reason. His spark was an emotional flood. Pain, sorrow, mourning, frustration. But the biggest emotion? The one that reigned supreme of them all? Anger. Anger of keeping it all silent for so long. Anger from being the only one to understand WHY it was Optimus's fault. The anger of Magnus, not even allowing him to get her shell back. The one thing he could do. Preserve her body in honor of her spirit, and Magnus refused it of him. Everyone...was wrong. Completely clueless. And it brought out an anger, the likes of which he'd never felt before.

"DONT SAY THAT NAME!!! You don't DESERVE to say that name!!!!!"

He launched his lance forward, planning to jab it right in those optics. Didn't matter which one, he just wanted to be free of judgement. Free if those bug eyes. The same kinds that caused all of this, so long ago. Unfortunately, it dodged. He hit something, and he practically wanted to purge, seeing what it was. Her helmet. He knocked off her helmet, revealing her true, fleshie face. A large pattern of purple bio lights. Black, soft looking flesh. Her...weird, purple, fangs, poked outward. It was a spider, possessing a robot body. He wasn't particularly religious, but he felt the need to apologize to primus, for such an unholy crime against him. He forced himself to keep his last fueling down.

"You're not Elita one, you mutant freak. Elita one...went offline a long time ago."

He stared her down for a minute. Her expression was firm, stoic. As if...she was ready for him. Before he could even think to pick up his lance again, however, Waspinator stood between them, clearly not happy with the confrontation. 

"Sarge bot NOT hurt Waspinator's friend!"

He transformed again, in his big, disgusting bug mode, and began firing. His weapon was stronger, and far faster than before. It definitely stung too, given that his entire body practically seized up, upon feeling a blast right to his chest. But he had a job to do. He shook himself out of it, just in time to shield himself from more attacks. It was archa seven all over again.

"Get away from me, you filthy organic!!!"

The creature pretending to be Elita one, merely giggled.

"What's wrong Sentinel? Still scared of bugs?"

Waspinator charged at him, and he caught him just in time, hitting him with his lance, and sending him flying down the hall. As he turned, about ready to pursue him, he suddenly felt a weight upon him. She was TOUCHING him. She was on top of him, and he suddenly felt two jabs of pain, right on his chest. His body was suddenly turning off every system. Whatever was happening, he was on his hands and knees in a manner of moments, his body refusing to cooperate. His audials barely wanted to cooperate, only picking up the occasional word.

"...let….go…"

"Why….I …"

Was that...Optimus? Talking to this ...thing?

"Because ...I...behind…Sentinel ...look…"

"What I...half of…"

Primus the room was spinning. His processor was glitchy, his tanks were churning, he felt himself drooling onto the floor, his body begging him to let him purge. He refused. He could go back onto the ship once this was over and purge as much as he wanted, but not now. He still had pests to get rid of. He didn't know exactly how long he was on the floor, but when he got up, everything seemed to be stable. He glared daggers at Optimus. 

"You ...KNEW about this?"

He had his suspicions, but for once, he hoped he was wrong. That sorry look on his face, those pathetic optics, made him wanna punch him in the face. Which, if his tanks would've let him, he would've done so.

"I...didn't know how to tell you."

"Welln thanks for not spoiling the surprise. Because, you know, I wouldn't wanna be PREPARED FOR THIS OR ANYTHING!!"

Those sad optics fooled most bots, but not him. He knew far better than that. Once they made it out of here, he was gonna pound him into sheet metal. He was actually going to tell him this, before his mouth was muffled with thick, purple, disgusting webbing.

"Mute it, lover bot. Spark knows I have every right to slag you both. But I have an experiment to complete."

That was when she proved that she was Elita. At least, part of her anyway. Her hands morphed, shaping themselves into his skyboom shield and lance. It lunged at Optimus, and was successful enough to send him crashing to the side and onto the floor, then quickly dashing for the exit. The ONE time he was disappointed at his weapons effectiveness. And the one time he was happy Optimus was here, given that he caught the spider by her ankle, forcing her down to the floor. 

"I thought you hated being part organic. Why did you do the same thing to Wasp?"

It took a minute for the spider to get up, but once she did, she glared at Optimus, as if he asked the most idiotic question hes ever heard.

"Isn't it obvious? If I can change him back, I can change MYSELF back!"

"And what if he goes offline in the process?like YOU almost did?"

Sentinel hated the look in Optimus's optics. It was firm, as one's should be in this situation, but it held a hint of something else. A hint of hope. Which was hilarious, given that HE was the one who let her go in the first damn place. The spider didn't even deserve it, given what came out of those lips next.

"Well...that's the price of science."

Sentinel was clearly out of the loop here, but from what he COULD gather...none of this was any good. Especially given the look of horror on that mutated, purple face, as Waspinator spoke.

"Spider bot...not Waspinator's friend? Spider bot USE Waspinator...now Waspinator destroy spider bot!!"

Before he could fire off his blasts, Optimus yanked on the cable, pulling her out of blasting range. In his opinion, he should've left the pest to die. But unfortunately, he was too weak to stop him. Not only was this spider annoying, but it was potent. Most system reboots only took a few kliks. The spider was gazing up at Waspinator in horror.

"His transwarp mutation is unstable, it's building to critical mass!!"

Sentinel thanked the primes for finally giving his arms strength. He wiped the gunk from his mouth, relieved to finally be able to speak.

"So what's the plan?"

"Same as its always been. RUN!!"

Normally Sentinel would hound him for being a scurrying coward, but for once, he agreed with him. The spider transformed, dodged an attack from Waspinator, and scurried down the hall, quickly being pursued by Waspinator. As Optimus helped him up, he couldn't help but chuckle. Maybe it was whatever was injected into him, or maybe it was the emotional strain of today, but he couldn't help but feel nostalgic. 

"Just like old times, huh?"

Optimus chuckled down at him, finally getting him.to his pedes.

"Yep. Only this time, we'll STAY a trio. She may not look like it, but shes the same bot as she always was."

He let Sentinel hold onto his shoulder, and quickly hurried towards the hallway.

"And I'm going to do what I can to save her. To fix what I did. Because-"

"You miss her too."

Sentinel finished his sentence. No matter how much they fought, or bickered, they would always agree on one thing. That they missed Elita one. But...if that thing WAS Elita...what did this mean? What was he to do? It was difficult to focus on anything else but this question, even as Optimus called out towards Bumblebee. 

"Bumblebee! Help me carry him out!"

Sentinel still felt weak, but he could at least semi support his weight, with Bumblebee carrying what he couldn't. Primus that was some toxic stuff. 

"Ugh...guess it beats being flattened a third time…"

For once, he couldn't blame his babbling. He'd be whining too, honestly. He was a trooper for managing to carry him all the way outside. And just in time. The spider was on her back, flailing about helplessly, with Waspinator preparing to fire. And he would've made it, if not for Optimus's axe slamming into his chest. It didn't make a dent, but it did distract him enough let Blackarachnia gain some footing.

"This time, we AREN'T leaving around you!"

She transformed, and spoke words, that despite being vague, were incredibly obvious. 

"This time, I AM!"

Sentinel didn't know what happened. But when he saw her stance. Her face. Her voice. He suddenly felt his body flinging itself forward, shield at the ready. He heard yelling from the outside, the silk cocoon, however, eliminated any possibility of him hearing. All he could remember, was Waspinator, freaking the frag out, and the spider glaring at him, as if furious with him. Then there was a loud, audial piercing screech, then finally, his entire body commenced shut down, and all became nothing.

\----------

He awoke primus knows how long after. His processor was in a spin, and his tanks were churned. He forced his arms to prop up the rest of the body, to get a good scope of things. Foliage. Dark, dirty soil. Chirping of random organics. Definitely wasn't on Cybertron. He focused above him, and sighed. Birds. Aka, earth animals. So unfortunately, not off planet. What surprised him further however, wasn't what was above him. But what was ahead of him. So. The spider wasn't some sick part of his nightmare. Real. Real, and unconscious. He pushed himself up a bit, and groaned. Everything in his body ached, but nothing hurt as much as his ankle. Something told him it wasn't supposed to have wires exposed. He managed to at least sit down, rather than being face first in the dirt. It wasn't standing, but hey, sparkling steps. He looked around his surroundings while his body was playing catch up. He knew exactly where he was. In...a jungle. Somewhere. Whatever, there were plants here. Primus sake, how does Optimus live in this planet? What with the annoying sounds, and the organics-

"You do realize you talk out loud still, right?"

He actually jumped a bit at the voice. He was busy complaining to the only smart bot on this island (aka, himself), to notice that the spider had awoken. The spider pushed herself upright, only to wince once she sat up. Her own processor was in pain, given how she clutched her helm.

"Primus...where are we?"

"On earth, given all the annoying birds."

She looked around, before groaning.

"You've GOT to be kidding me…"

Sentinel took another look around, and raised a brow. There was something a foot or so away from them. Something out of place. He reached over, body clearly not appreciating the movement, and picked it up. He immediately let it fall to the floor, and sprayed his hand with anti bacterial spray. It was an arm. A long, slender, buggy arm. And he TOUCHED IT. The other disgusting organic looked it over, and sighed.

"Waspinator's. It's just his arm, he's not offline. Probably pulling himself together. Literally."

"He's STILL online? And you're NOT worried?"

"Why would I be? He's after you, too. All I have to do is outrun you, and it should give me a few days. He's bound to need energon, you'll feed him for a while. Got enough fuel in your chin to feed a small army."

She grumbled a bit, before getting up on her pedes. she grumbled, rubbing her wrists. Nothing was broken, but she landed on her wrist, making it feel a bit sore. Upon transforming however, she seemed to be just fine. Sentinel stood up, using the surrounding trees to keep him upright, (although it was a struggle to not fall over) as he desperately followed the abomination. 

"W-wait! You're not serious, right? You're not just gonna let a Prime die out here, right? You can't do that!"

"I don't see any reason not to. Duck."

"What d-"

He was going to ask 'what duck', when he felt a tree branch snap right into his face, knocking him to the ground. He lifted his helm up, watching the spider go further and further away. He checked his person, and upon finding out he still had his weapons, brought forth his skyboom lance, took a firm grip onto the handle, and despite how much strain it put on his arm, he tossed it, and it landed right in front of the violet vermin, making her stop. Sentinel was grateful that it was enough to get her attention. 

"You. Can NOT leave me here."

There was no response at first. Then she transformed, plucked the lance from the soil, and the next thing he knew, her heel was jammed right in his chest. She held onto his lance, with clear intentions of not giving it back. From the mean look those red optics were giving him, he sort of regretted now having so much of her attention. 

"And tell me, why would I EVER put extra effort to keep you alive?"

"Because I DID. I dove in between you and Waspinator. If I hadn't, can you picture the damage it would've done to you?"

"So you were playing white knight, big fragging deal. I'm not obligated to stay here, and risk my spark keeping you online. It'd be much easier to leave you as fodder for bug brain."

Well. This wasn't good. He had to think of something. ANYTHING. Come on Sentinel, you're the primer prime for a reason! Think think think ...as he was mentally panicking, she quickly lost interest, plucking her heel from his body. As she turned around to leave, it came to him.

"Wait! You NEED me! You can't make it out here without me!"

"And why is that?"

She asked, turning around. She seemed amused by Sentinel's words, clearly not taking him seriously. He propped himself up on his elbows, and tried to look confident. Which he totally aced.

"Because...you can't make it here in the wild. Spider mode or not, without some henchmen fawning over you, you can't protect yourself against Waspinator, let alone whatever else is roaming around this FILTHY mudball. You need to make it back to civilization, stuff with technology. What do you hope to achieve here? Just flounder around the place till you end up dead? I've seen what you look like on your back, it's more pathetic than your entire organic half."

"Oh, you think I need a big, strong mech to protect me?"

"That too. But I need YOU to guide me to a high, clear peak. There's high power readings around here. Too much for me to comm link for help. Not to mention the stupid plants are in the way, blocking signals. You help get me to a place with a good enough signal, we'll BOTH get a lift outta this place."

She halted for a moment. He had a point, and it was clear that she knew it. He really wished he hadn't knocked her helmet off before this, given how her appendages seemed to quiver in anger.

"Alright. We'll find a secluded place for now, then we'll plan where to go next. Try not to get too much on my nerves. I won't kill you, but that doesn't mean I can't do a good old fashioned light maiming. Come on."

She turned around, and Sentinel groaned as he forced himself up, only to come crashing down by the lack of support from his pede.

"C...can't. Pedes useless. I need it welded back together. You don't uh, happen to have any tools for that, would you?"

"Primus sake…"

She sighed, before kneeling down, looking at his pede. It wasn't something that demanded amputation, but there's no way he'd walk with it like this. Well, he could, but Waspinator could kill them twenty times over, with how long that'd take.

"I don't carry welding tools with me. You don't carry a medical kit with you?"

"You see, I would, but uh...I wouldn't have enough space for the REALLY important stuff."

"...what's more important than a medical kit?"

"This."

He pulled out his anti bacterial spray, rather proud of it, honestly. She rolled her optics, very tempted to kill them both and just end the torment. 

"Wow. You're somehow even MORE stupid than I remember. "

"H-hey! I'm not stupid! Im a PRIME! I'm the elite! You think you're so high and mighty, why don't YOU carry a medical kit?"

"You know, they just don't make them for techno organics nowadays. Now sit still. I can't weld it together, but I can keep them together with some webbing."

She forced some from her hands, using her claws to sift through them, separating the strands, rather than one big blob. Before she could get to work, he scooted away from her, clearly not liking the idea.

"Hey! You are NOT touching me with that GROSS...whatever that stuff is! It comes FROM you! That's DISGUSTING!"

"One, it's called webbing. Two, unless you wanna take fifty hours of walking in pain, and only making your injury worse, you're gonna want me to fix this. Unless you got a third option?"

"....well. You could-"

"If you suggest I carry you, this pede is coming off."

"...I guess I'll take the webbing."

"Wow. You're not AS stupid as you look. Barely. If I had a gold sticker, I'd let ya have it."

He was clearly hesitant, but he held still as she began wrapping up his pede, making sure to keep it tight enough to hold, but not enough to restrict energon flow. As she was busy binding it, he seemed to stare at her, clearly thinking about something. 

"Let me guess. You're hating this, aren't you?"

"COMPLETELY. I'm thinking about how many acid baths imma need after this. Your hands just feel...ewww!!!"

"Quit. Squirming."

Primus this was gross. Her hands felt...organic. Just, weird, and very uncomfortable against his own metal. When she finally finished, she stood up, gesturing him up.

"Alright, that's the best you're gonna get. Let's see how it walks."

"You're not gonna help me up?"

"Oh I'm sorry, NOW is the filthy organic allowed to touch his royal highness?"

He grumbled a few swear words, before deciding to help himself up. He didn't need a freak to help him up anyway. He was up on his pedes in a moment, and to his surprise, he only felt slight pain. He took a step forward, and found it much more bearable. Though honestly, she should've been honored to carry him.

"Doesn't hurt?"

"A bit, but I'll manage, despite how poor of a job you did."

"I'll take it as a thank you, for your health."

She pressed on, wielding his lance, and using it to cut through the thick plants. And he was appalled. 

"Hey! Who said you can use MY lance?"

"Oh sorry, I assumed it was for me, given that you threw it in my direction."

"Well it wasn't for you, so give it-"

He made the motion to reach for what was rightfully his, only to recoil harshly once she hissed at him, fangs bared. Holy scrap that was revolting. She seemed proud of herself however, smiling smugly as she pressed on.

"Still scared of spiders, I see. Good to know. Anyways, I'm keeping this."

"Alright. Fine. Since I'm so nice."

She needed it anyway. Small, feeble. She needed some way to defend herself without him. Not like he couldn't easily protect her, she just didn't deserve it. She seemed to know how to use it as least, given how quickly she was clearing the foliage. Sentinel meanwhile, was focused on these tiny, annoying bugs surrounding them both.

"Ugh, how can Optimus STAND living at a place so infested with these...bugs."

"Mosquitoes. These are mosquitoes. They suck blood."

"You sure they don't suck energon? They keep swarming us like crazy! Primus sake how many ARE there?!"

"Dunno. But there's about 3,500 species. And I wouldn't complain. They're literally the only sentient beings that'd wanna suck you."

"HEY!!"

If only he could properly educate her as to how badly she was wrong. Fems and mechs lined up at the door to try to date him! Only reason why he was single was because no one met his incredibly high standards! She slashed through the thick leaves, and he swatted what bugs he could. How could one, forgetful planet, be so full of vermin? Her, these bugs, Optimus? He was going to complain more so about it all, but he was unable to, given that she lifted the lance up, making him halt.

"Hold up. Think we have a place we can settle down for tonight. Neither of us can see in the dark, at least not very well, even with your lights, so we gotta wait for morning."

"Do you know how much TIME we'll lose?! The night cycle is HOW long on this planet?"

"12 hours. So six mega cycles, roughly."

"You expect me to wait six mega cycles?!"

He looked over at what the resting place was. A cave. A dark cave, with the sun setting, and being near a freak show that VERY clearly didn't like him. He pointed at the cave entrance, as if it proved his point.

"In THAT cave? With YOU?! I'd rather feed these swarming pests my pede! No, we're pressing forward!"

She rolled her optics, and turned to look at him.

"So you know where to go? AND you can navigate in the dark?"

"Well...no. But-"

"You know what? I don't care. You can be a big mech and walk off in the wilderness by yourself. Maybe our friendly neighborhood Waspinator will give you directions? Have fun!"

She patted his cheek, condescendingly, then rested the lance on her shoulder, sauntering towards the cave. If she was gonna be this damn difficult, then fine. He was a Prime! He was BUILT for this!

"You know what, fine! I'll make it myself!"

He turned around, and upon hearing a loud howl that DEFINITELY sounded close, immediately turned back around, following her. He managed to catch up to her before she went fully in the cave entrance, panting. He totally wasn't scared though, definitely. 

"Aw, did some sparkling get scared?"

"No!!"

He snapped, pointing a finger in her direction.

"You...have my lance. That's all."

"Ah. You sure that's the ONLY reason?"

"Well, I didn't come back for you, that's for sure."

"Oh, im hurt. How am I ever gonna recover?"

She smacked his shoulder, causing his lights to snap open. He grumbled at her, rubbing his upper arm.

"You could've ASKED…"

"Just keep your lights on. It looks empty, but I rather not deal with any territorial animals here."

"...what territorial animals?"

"Oh the usual stuff. Depending on where exactly we are, it could be bears. Lions, tigers, rats with teeth sharp enough to open you open like a tin can. And any number of creepy crawlies. "

"You're...joking right?"

"Nope. In some places, you might even have all of the above."

She was lying. She had to be. Either way, he kept his shield up, on guard. They walked along, hearing nothing but their own footsteps. She put her hand behind her, stopping him.

"I did NOT give you permission to touch me, you filthy-"

"Oh, can it. Listen."

Scratching. To the left. To the right. Scurrying. Scuffling. He put his battle mask into place, and kept his shield up. The fact that she kept the lance at ready, didn't fill him with confidence. The sound got closer. And closer. Till she suddenly sighed.

"Oh. Got a spark attack over nothing. Check it out, in front of me."

"Is it a scraplet?! Space barnacles?!"

When he looked, he saw just what it was. A small, fuzzy, gray looking thing, with black facial fur. Looked kinda like a mask, really. 

"The ...scrap is that?"

"A raccoon. Pests on this planet, to some. Eats small bugs and whatever it can find in human trash."

He removed his battle mask, and knelt down to its level. So small. Even though he hated ALL organics, this one was more pleasant to look at.

"So...not dangerous?"

"Not usually. Unless it's angry."

"Well how do you get it-AHHH!!!!"

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, with this horrid, fuzzy, monster hissing and clawing wildly at his face. Yes its claws weren't enough to do serious damage, but primus it felt like it was going after his optics! He flailed wildly for a moment, before it was suddenly plucked off his face. This horrid little creature, attacking him with a viciousness akin to Megatron, was now just staring at him, being held by Blackarachnia, by its loose skin apparently. 

"How...did you DO that?! And WHY did IT do THIS?!"

"It's called scruffing. Calms some animals. And I have no idea, they're usually timid animals. Maybe it just really hated you. I can relate. "

"It could've taken out my optics!!! Did you SEE what it did to my face?!"

"Yeah. An improvement, I think."

"I'm gonna fragging kill it."

"Oh shut it. Chances are it'll leave and be back once we're gone. Alright, scram."

She set it down, and it hissed at Sentinel, before scurrying off to the cave entrance. He rubbed at his face for a moment, grumbling. 

"Ah...my poor paint. It's official, I hate organics. "

"Too bad you're gonna be surrounded by them for a while. Plus side, we're at the end of the cave. Least, far as we need to go, to hide from Waspinator."

Sentinel switched his flashlight from high beam lights, to low beam, illuminating the rest of the cave. Brown, dirty, dull, and definitely gross. And definitely cramped. There was also an INCREDIBLY annoying sound in the background. A 'drip, drip, drip'. He rubbed at his audials, hoping it would stop, but was annoyed to find out he was wrong.

"The frag is that sound?"

She looked around for a moment, before walking ahead, and kneeling down.

"Ah. Fresh water. Not much, but definitely fresh. Thank primus."

She got on her knees, cupped her hands, and began drinking the stuff like it was energon.

"You...need water?"

"Either that or energon. And I don't see any energon around, so this'll have to do. Pop a squat big chin, we're gonna be here for a while, and I know I'm not the only one exhausted."

He looked around for a clean spot to sit on, and, upon finding nothing, sprayed a single spot with anti bacterial spray, hoping it'd be enough. Though, he felt himself wincing plenty when he sat down. He took a minute to look around. A bunch of brown and gray, with a bunch of other tunnels that went primus knows where. Then, there was her. She must've needed this water stuff, given how long she kept drinking. She was quiet, minus slurping. It was odd, not hearing snarky comments or insults come from those lips. Those black lips, contrasting greatly with those bright, sharp, white teeth. She lifted another handful of water to her mouth, before noticing him staring. Her round lips curved into a snarl.

"Hey, be disgusted with me if you want, but no one's making you look."

"Er, it's just...you're doing a great job."

"At what? Not killing you? I agree, I deserve a trophy."

"No, not that. You're doing a great job at pretending to be her."

"Elita one?"

"Yeah. You sit like she did. She hated sitting on her aft, she always preferred her knees, and she always kept the knee's touching, like how you're doing."

Speaking of, he was uncomfortable sitting on his own aft. After grumbling for a moment, he brought forth his skyboom shield, put it on the rocky floor, and sat on it. Not comfortable, especially leaning against the rock wall, but better. He crossed his hands behind his helm.

"And you do other things too. Like when you shake your helm no, your whole body moves side to side. But...you're not her."

"Really? I had NO clue."

She stated, wiping her mouth. She definitely felt much better, processor finally ceasing its spinning. She definitely looked more friendly, given that her sarcasm didn't come with an insult. He looked up at the ceiling, not surprised to find any lack of color.

"That's not what I meant. You took things from her, little things, but you scowl differently. You talk differently. You move differently. You can't be her."

"Because I'm not. Some bots change with time. I almost feel sorry for you, still living in the past. I changed, everything's changed."

He stared at her as she started produced webbing, thumbing it through her fingers like energon noodles. She sounded so accepting about it, that it only confused him.

"But...aren't you the one that hates your organic form? The WHOLE reason why Waspinator exists? Whole reason why we're HERE?"

"Oh no, I do hate my organic half. Completely. And I WILL find a way to purge it from myself, but there's ONE good thing about it."

He couldn't help but cringe. There was something horrid, about someone being okay with...THIS happening to them. However, he pressed on, a sick curiosity crawling in his processor, as to why ANYONE would want this.

"And thats?...."

"It gave me some good ol' perspective. Changing, into this, made me realize who my real friends were. Wasn't the autobots, that's for sure."

"So, it was the decepticons, then?"

"Oh no, they're pretty awful too. They're just more open to freaks than you guys were. You know, given that they didn't wanna slag me the second they saw me without my helmet. Sure,"

She unraveled her project, a long, purple blanket of webbing, twice her size. She shook it off, letting it get firm enough to not fall apart on her. 

"They'll slag you if you step out of line, say scrap against Megatron, but at least they'll give a freakshow a chance. They aren't my friends though, not even the resident traitor can stand to be around me for too long."

"Then...who ARE your friends?"

"Me, myself, and I. All I need. I'm the only one that doesn't wants me dead."

"I want you dead for a reason, you know."

"Oh yeah? Do tell, I'll add it to my, 'bots that want me dead' list."

She wrapped herself and her blanket, covering her entire body, got onto her knees, and cupped his Skyboom lance in her hands, tightly. She didn't trust him, and he could understand it. He WAS going to kill her, at some point.

"Because. I cared about Elita one. And Elita one doesn't deserve this. If you're really her…"

He drifted off as he leaned forward, looking at her right in her optics. 

"I'm doing this FOR you. Because you don't deserve this. It's the least I can do, to make up for what Optimus did. And if you aren't her, then you're just pretending to be her. And she doesn't deserve some freak making fun of her, and using her identity when I haven't even found her shell. Either way, once we're out of here, I'm taking you out. Use your body for science, impress all those smart fems back on Cybertron."

He leaned back against the wall, optics offlining. He may not be looking, but he was listening. She hadn't said anything for a moment, and honestly, he was surprised. No snappy comeback? No insults? No threats? Maybe he made this she spider feel bad for impersonating Elita. In which case, he felt rather proud of his words. However, she spoke up, a minute later.

"Sentinel?"

"What?"

"Shut your lights off."

"Say please?"

"You want me to bite your chin off?"

"...lights off, got it."

Regardless of his hatred for this impersonator, he knew she was an opponent he did NOT want to battle with, especially in his condition. There was no sound but the subtle 'drip drop' of freshwater. He didn't know how long he was awake, how long his mind raced with what happened to him today, but it was long enough. He turned on his lights again, keeping it on the lowest setting as possible. She was asleep, nestled in her webbing, with her lips pressed against her clasped hands. It even slept like Elita. It was damn good at copying her, that was for sure. So much so...that for a moment, for a single moment, those black lips turned green, and her fingers didn't have claws. Just soft, green digits. And instead of these red, buggy optics, there were big, blue, and reminded him of stars. Thankfully it only lasted a second. He turned off his lights, and forced himself into recharge.

Hopefully his thoughts would be sorted out by morning.


	2. The lost trio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blackarachnia and Sentinel are still traversing through the wild. Sentinel has a revelation, and major flashbacks, all in Blackarachnia's pov.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little note here guys! I had to use a lot of headcanons, but whatever can be canon, is(minus Afterburn's alt mode, and a few placements of characters). The Starlight cake mentioned is inspired by @cyber-pop-star, and art has been made by my best buddy, @cookienerdzzz. Both of which are found on Tumblr.

Blackarachnia awoke the next morning, before Sentinel did. The cave was slightly illuminated by the morning sun, allowing her to see decently enough without having to wake him. He really hadn't changed. He had his hands folded across his chest, as though dreams himself were getting on his nerves. His audial fins laid back, and of course, the snoring. Autobot snoring, and human snoring were pretty different (from her own testing). Human snoring was nasally, with the human sounding like it was choking on its own throat. Autobot snoring was more of an engine being turned on and off. It was annoying, but she preferred it over resting in the nemesis. Flyers had the WORST engines. Loud, with the sound escalating until it stopped, only to start again. So as annoying as Sentinel was, she took him over resting in the same room as Lugnut. Sentinel's WAS bad though, everyone complained about it. Never her though. Somehow, she always managed to sleep through it. Primus, she even remembered MISSING that snoring, the first few nights as a techno-organic. Now, that she was looking back, she realized she was insane. 

"Primus sake...surprised the place didn't collapse on us in our sleep. Imma stretch the old spider legs, be back soon, big chin."

She took a minute to get her fill of fresh water, before clipping her new lance on her back, and leaving. It was early morning it seemed, the birds starting to chirp as they awoke, contacting their families. Funny word really. Family. A sense of unity. Something she wasn't very used to having, nor would she probably ever be. She pushed on, to the path she cut through the day before, taking note of the way the sunbeams gently pushed past the trees. Yes, she missed Cybertron's lights and streets, but earth wasn't so bad. One thing she liked, that Cybertron didn't have, was the fog. Cool to the skin, and made the place look alien. Another funny word, she realized. She let the grass, twigs, and flowers crunch under her pedes as she walked ahead. She caught the sound of fresh running water, and sure enough, she found a river. It wasn't huge, but it was pleasant to the optic. She looked around her area, getting a feel of the sounds and feeling of the environment. No wonder that ninja freak digged this planet. She made optic contact with a blue jay, just casually hanging around a branch, before it fluttered away. Even other organics wanted nothing to do with her.  
She walked up closer to the stream, noticing that beyond the pines, a waterfall lay, thundering down heavily, leading to the steady, peaceful stream. That was when she noticed it. Despite her somewhat poor optic sight, (she could see up close alright, but far away was a struggle) she noticed a giant mountain. At that elevation, it'd be just enough to get out of the plants, getting a good signal out. And if they hurried, they could get there before Waspinator, who was no doubt injured from yesterday's explosion. Now they had a plan. She back tracked to the cave, finding Sentinel awake, polishing his shield. He woke up on the wrong side of it, apparently. 

"Where were you?"

"Observing the area. Got a feel for it. Why, scared I ditched you?"

"No. I was scared you were trying to run from me. I was giving you a few cycles before I was going to go get you."

"Oh I'm shaking in my boots."

They gave each other a look, as if testing one another. They broke it as quickly as they started it, with Blackarachnia going in for a few more gulps of fresh water. As easily as she found the river, the wild was unpredictable, who knows when she'd find more of it. Once she had her fill, she did a self diagnosis. Everything was stable, no injuries or malfunctions. However, the glaring issue remained. Fuel. She was running short on half of a tank. With all the walking and climbing she was sure she'd have to do, it'd be better to top herself off. She splashed some water on her face, then producing some silk, dried her face. Despite how small of a portion this was, she noticed how much it took her body to make. She had to be a little more careful, and not waste it.

"Hey, the webbing is coming off my pede. You gonna fix it?"

Okay, so she had to waste SOME. She wished she could re use the ones in her hands, but just because it was conservative, doesn't mean you should wrap a wound in wet gauze. Oh well, she could use it for something else later, just for emergencies. She definitely didn't feel comfortable enough to leave it here, less someone find it and try to track them. She wrapped it around her hand, hoping it'd dry off soon. As little water as it was, spider webbing grows sticky when wet, (picture it like an elastic adhesive) and she'd think that it wasn't the best to let that sink into an open wound. She tucked her current webbing away in her subspace, and turned around, looking over at his ankle. Webbing was a bit loose, definitely not enough to hold him together in comfort. She tore through the webbing, tucking that away with her as well. 

"You always save those?"

"Only when I know someone on the island would love to find me. Case you haven't noticed, my kind isn't common around here."

She produced some more, tying it up tight, as she did yesterday. Despite how strong it was, it wasn't indestructible, and a day of walking was enough to wear it down. She had to take that into a factor while being cautious of her fuel. While thinking of this, she looked up, noticing Sentinel's gaze.

"Enjoy the view, lover bot. Primus knows a fem on her knees isn't a sight you're used to."

He didn't say anything. His optic twitched, but was otherwise unresponsive. This guy wasn't very talkative today, was he? Fine by her. She let him flex his pede, and upon seeing no pain, nodded.

"Alright, that should hold. So, while I was out, I figured out a plan."

"Shoot."

"To the east, giant mountain. It'll be a hike and climb, but it'll be manageable. Waspinator's gotta be trashed, so it'll be hard for him to follow us. Not impossible, but no picnic."

"How long do you think it'll take?"

"If we walked as much as we could during the day, take only necessary breaks, and don't have many interruptions, I'm guessing a decacycle. Maybe less, maybe more. It's wild out here, in case you didn't know."

"Well. Let's get started. Soon as we get a signal out, the better."

He gripped onto the wall, and propped himself up, thankful that the pain in his ankle was more or less negligent. They walked out of the cave mouth, Sentinel's arm up in the air. She raised a brow at him, and he looked confused.

"There's… no bugs."

"None except me. It's too early. Bugs don't like the cold air. Once it gets warmer, you'll see your little friends."

Sentinel didn't understand ANYTHING about this planet. So much so, that it was clear he couldn't make it on his own. She expected him to walk, but found him just staring at him.

"What?"

"I'm waiting for you to go on."

"Why me? Aren't you a big, strong elite guard?"

"An elite guard without a weapon. You got the lance, I can't clear anything with my shield."

"Fair point."

Sentinel had his smart moments. It was in the minority, but it was there. She pulled out the lance, going forward, and slashing at the thick brushes, and aiming for the east. She'd stop every once and a while, only for a brief moment. Listening. Spiders couldn't see very well, but they were very attuned to their surroundings. Her caution wasn't just for Waspinator however. She stopped their trek, upon spotting EXACTLY what she was looking for. Slithering just ahead of them, a big, green, slithering, boa constrictor. It wasn't chilly enough to halt this big fella, apparently. Sentinel put his hand on her shoulder, and ducked, clearly a bit freaked out by the sliding creature.

"What IS that?"

"Snake. Boa constrictor. Dangerous, to the earthlings."

"But...not to us?"

"Nope."

"Then why did you-"

"Shh."

She waited a moment, watching it slowly slide into the brush. Very slowly, she pushed aside a giant leaf, focusing. Sentinel was about to speak, not liking how she was starting to walk away from him. No more than about two steps, but it was too far for him. He actually let out a cry of surprise as she suddenly transformed, and went right for its skull, relishing in the crunch of its bones in her teeth. The body kept thrashing, squirming, purely in reflex at this point. It wasn't the only thing freaking out. Sentinel was hunched in the corner, shield out in front of him, as if ready for an attack.

"What...in the SLAG!?"

She transformed back into bot mode, having a tight grip on the snake as she tore the head clean off, making Sentinel cringe and flinch with every chew.

"Fueling up. I gotta get something in the tank, or I won't make the trip. You mind?"

"YOU JUST BIT ITS HEAD OFF!YES I FRAGGING MIND!!"

His scream was enough to scare off a few local birds, and making Blackarachnia smack his arm. Despite her mouth being full, she managed to scold him. 

"You do WANT to give away our position to EVERYTHING here?!"

She swallowed its head, glaring at him. Sentinel looked sick. He looked about ready to keel over, lightly gagging at watching the snake try in vain to save itself in her hands.

"Y-your...oh primus you EAT other creatures?! EARTH creatures?!"

"Anything that'll top off my tanks. And yeah. Along with a cybertronian tank, I have an organic stomach. If I don't keep one full, I die. Which we both don't want. Well, at least until we both get out of here."

Sentinel had to hold onto a tree, holding onto his gut, and occasionally shaking his helm.

"Oh primus...oooh it's all slimy. Why is it still MOVING?!"

"Reflexes."

She responded. Sentinel didn't HAVE to watch her do organic things, but more often than naught, he found himself morbidly curious. Yes, it was disgusting. Yes it made him feel ill. But it was like a train wreck. You HAD to watch it. And she couldn't blame him, honestly. She was disgusted by herself whenever she did this, but being disgusted was way better than being dead. She hooked her claw onto its skin, and slowly peeled, as if it was a banana, revealing its flesh. Sentinel was staring at the scene as though she was doing it to a fellow cybertronian. She turned it upside down, scraping the organs downward, and letting the waste fall to the forest floor. He met her optics, completely confused and terrified.

"Waste. You ever try to eat this stuff? Terrible. And don't look at me like that, I'm running low. I'd rather cook it, but we don't really have time for that. Don't worry, I'm a quick eater."

That was when she pushed him possibly too far. She slowly peeled the organs, heart, lower intestines and all, gathered them all up in a little bundle, and like one would a handful of noodles, slowly slurped them down her gullet. She waited for them to sink down to her own stomach (she had no idea how her body differentiated fuel, in terms of where to put it when it goes down, but it never failed her before), before she removed the snakes spine, hearing the little cracking as the occasional bone would snap and break. She COULD eat them, but she'd be picking them out of her teeth for hours if she did. Then, upon sliding the spine out, along with a few stray bones, she tore into the pink flesh, making quick work of it, tearing and pulling and yanking, like a beast. A bit rubbery,(tasted like a sinewy, half-starved tilapia, if you were curious)but hey, at least it was fresh. Once she was finished, she licked the blood from her hands, and wiped her mouth. Not the best meals she'd ever had, but it topped her off, and on a low tank, it was still pretty damn good. She raised a brow, and shrugged.

"What? You see any energon around? Because if you did I'd LOVE to see it."

Sentinel opened his mouth to talk, only to suddenly empty his tanks, spilling energon all over the ground. And not just one go. He spilled energon, looked up at Blackarachnia again, and threw up yet again, groaning loudly in discomfort. 

"That's… not what I meant. You good?"

"No. Oh my god you ATE something. You SKINNED IT!"

"Well duh, you ever eat scales? Get stuck in your teeth."

"Just...oh my primus. Can you refuel ANY other way, besides that?"

"You find me energon, fruits, or vegetables, then sure. Be happy to substitute. You done dying?"

"Hold on, two kliks."

He heaved a few times, before lifting himself up, audial fins perked, and face scrunched up.

"Okay. I'm good. And if I find these...uh...what was it you ate again?"

"Fruits and veggies. Fruits are usually colorful. Like blackberries. I wouldn't eat meat at all if I could eat my fill of those."

"Blackberries. Got it."

"You don't know what they look like, do you?"

"Tch! Course I do! I'm the PRIMER prime! I know everything!"

"...as the years went by, so did your IQ. Let's go before you say something else that stupid."

"It's a REAL thing!"

She rolled her optics, and kept pressing forward, thrashing through the foliage. Sentinel kept his shield at the ready as he followed, not trusting a single thing on this horrible, terrifying planet. Him and Blackarachnia had the same thought. This was going to be a long, long decacycle. It could be worse, at least he wasn't Lugnut, worshipping Megatron like he was some god. Though, as soon as Sentinel spoke again, she almost wanted to read Lugnut's book, 'Megatron's fist' (and she was pretty damn sure it was a euphemism too)

"Is THIS a blackberry?"

She swung at a branch in front of her, then turned to look at Sentinel. He was holding a damn pinecone. She took it from his hand, and stared at it.

"Sentinel?"

"Yeah?"

"How's your reflexes?"

"Pretty damn good, I'd say. Why?"

"Think fast."

She chucked the pinecone right between his optics, making him swear, and cover his face.

"That's a PINECONE. I swear the dinobots are smarter than you. And two of them don't know how to TALK. Now move it."

"You could've just SAID it was wrong! Look at my face!l"

"Ugh. You're right. Honestly it's probably gonna scar."

Sentinel whined behind her, rubbing at his scratched paint. Primus sake, he turned into a total sparkling. She couldn't wait till she was rid of him, and for good this time.

\------

The sun was high in the sky. The bugs were more active, buzzing this way and that. The birds tweeted, deer grazed upon the meadows. That was when footsteps were heard. Big, heavy, whirring, buzzing. He was walking upon his buggy legs, following the tracks. Then, he found it. A puddle, full of energon. He transformed, and dipped his finger into the pink pool, only to lightly suckle on it. Fresh, warm. Cybertronian. And another, based on the scent. A gurgle rose in his throat, and he felt his wings flutter in anger. He knew it. He was on the right track. They will pay for what they did. He followed east, keeping the scent. The mud preserved their prints very well. He transformed again, and walked on forward, determined. He'd make good use of them yet. Nice little energon goodies, spiced up with agony. He did say he had plans, afterall.

\-----

"So, you're telling me Waspinator is PROBABLY gonna harvest us for energon, if he finds us?"

"Honestly? Yeah. See, he's kinda mad at us, case you didn't realize, and he's gonna be hungry. Seems like the logical thing to do, honestly."

She lashed at a few more branches, before coming to a small clearing. It wasn't anything much, just a mini meadow, but it was nice to start taking a quick break. She had been at this for a while, and the energy from the eaten snake, was now almost gone. She plopped herself down on her knees, grateful that the grass was extra soft here. Sentinel raised a brow. 

"What are you doing? We've got to keep going!"

"Shut it. We've been at it for two megacycles. I need a break."

"Wh- we can't take a break! We LITERALLY just talked about Waspinator EATING US!"

"Well I'M gonna eat you if I don't eat something. Just a few cycles, then we'll keep going. Trust me, we need it."

She started plucking the flowers from the ground, stuffing them in her mouth. It was a complete pindrop in an ocean that was her stomach, but it was better than nothing. Sentinel looked around, clearly not liking being in an open, exposed area. But honestly, his pede was feeling a little raw.

"Fine. Ten cycles. Then we're going. Happy?"

"Nope."

"Good."

And neither was he, clearly. He sat down next to her, a pretty decent length away. He watched her stuff her face full of violets, and primus did she hate it. She knew she was a mutant, and sensing Sentinel's optics on her, didn't help.

"You know, you CLEARLY don't like watching this. But you keep doing it. Look around you, plenty more entertainment. And THESE organics won't kill you just for you looking at them. Well, none that I can see anyway."

"It's...just. I'm confused."

"What's new?"

"No no no, that's not what I mean. I'm confused. As to how you imitate Elita, so well. It's almost as if you ARE her. But you AREN'T. You sit like her, relax like her. But you're...rude. Snarky."

Primus sake. This guy was so gung ho on this. Sentinel, like most mechs she's met, just didn't progress and get over things. Time only made them frustrated. She stuffed a few more flowers in her mouth, not even taking a moment to look at their colors. 

"Because I've changed. When is that gonna get into that processor of yours? I WAS Elita one. I'm NOW Blackarachnia. The fem you knew is TECHNICALLY here, but really, gone. How many times do I gotta say it?"

"Till I believe you."

Sentinel scooted closer. He had his arm propped up on his knee, and with his free hand, pointed at her in accusation.

"Because it doesn't make sense. The Elita I knew may not have been completely in love with me, like other fems, but she never treated me like this. She was my friend. You? You're NOT my friend."

"I thought this was established already."

"You're just NOT her. You CAN'T be. You're pretending to be her. And if it wasn't for the fact that I needed to take you back to a Cybertronian prison, you wouldn't even be here."

She sighed. After rubbing her temple, she couldn't help but be a bit frustrated. 

"Alright. What if I can prove it? Ask me any question, and I'll answer it. Something only your little Elita would know. Honestly, ANYTHING to make you shut up."

"..."

To her surprise, he was silent. She was expecting him to already have a question in mind. She found herself watching him, up until he finally had an idea.

"The star flare event. Do you remember that? Me, you, and Optimus? We went out to catch it, a few solar cycles before...you know. Before what happened."

Sentinel didn't look at her as he said this. She was the reverse, looking at him as she said nothing. Her face looked clueless, and she was pretty sure she could read his thoughts. 'She doesn't remember. It couldn't be her'. But he was wrong. She searched his face, wanting something stable to cling to as her memories surrounded her processor like a flood. She remembered all of it.

"Elita! Come on! Hurry it up!"

"Wait a minute! You guys left me to carry all the stuff, I'm GONNA be slower!"

Sentinel turned to look at her, shrugging as he climbed up the hill with Optimus.

"Hey, you said you wanted to do weight training. Consider it a favor."

"When I get up this hill, I'm going to kill you."

Sentinel merely grinned, dashing up the hill, and pushing Optimus back.

"H-hey!"

"I can't outrun her, but I can outrun you, Optimus!"

Optimus and Elita shared a look, only to sigh and proceed. Sentinel was that kinda guy. Annoying, but a friend till the end. Once they made it up the hill, Elita groaned. She got Sentinel was a big mech, but did he have to bring so many drinks and snacks? Sentinel grinned as he saw his other bunk mates, everyone waiting for the event.

"Rad!! You made it! What happened, you said you had a date!"

Rad was in their platoon, but was more interested in the scientific field. Despite how dedicated he was to his passions, the red mech had one other thing in mind. Fems. He waved his hand, getting off the cargo bed of their other classmate, Afterburn, who didn't at all mind being his platoon's seat.

"Ah, you know how fems are. Can't handle ya boy in red. OP, glad you could make it! And of course…"

Elita mentally prepared herself as he walked over, leaning against Afterburn, and the rest of the class giggling at the incoming attempt.

"Elita one. Damn, if you ain't a sight for sore vizors. You look good, got a new paint job? I DIG it. You with these two lugheads?"

"Nope. Not with anyone tonight. In fact, I'm ONLY here because Sentinel didn't want to come here alone with Optimus, less everyone thinks they're dating."

"Too late!!"

Piped Wingsaber. The whole class erupted in laughter, and Sentinel puffed out his chest.

"I'll come back there Wing! You wanna go?! Lets go!"

Sentinel was all talk, and the group was well aware. Wing patted his chest, and Optimus stood in between them, really not wanting Sentinel to complain about being called out. It was always a 2 AM talk that made him lose sleep.

"Hey hey, you guys? We're here to catch the event. Not to watch you two bicker. Like you do pretty much everyday."

"Hey, Wing always starts it."

Despite Sentinel's words, there were grins a plenty. There were taunts, teases, name calling, and trash throwing on a daily, but all of them were very close. some, with the want to get even closer. Like Rad, who lost his charm around fems. He pushed himself off of Afterburn, swaying a bit closer towards Elita.

"Speaking of starting things, why don't you and I get something going on, Elita? I like what you put down."

"Sorry. I go for the gentlemech type."

"Pfft. You're looking at him, baby! I'm THE perfect gentlemech~"

"Oh can you? Then be a sweetspark, and carry this for me."

She practically flung the package into his hands, with him wheezing at the sudden weight.

"HOLY-What's IN this?"

"Sentinel's snacks."

"Damn mech, no wonder you got GIANT hands, THIS is where it's all going!"

Despite the weight, and being turned down, Rad helped hauled the package onto the back, pushing it towards everyone. Optimus hopped onto the back first, helping Sentinel up, then Sentinel doing the same for Elita. They opened the package, appeased by Cybertronian goodies. Oil cakes, Budweiski's, Rust sticks, Zip Zaps, some Jeeps, and Sentinel, being the guy he was, even went so far as to get a bottle of Nova Cronal energon, much to the appeasement of the group. Wingsaber whooped, clapping his hands.

"That's my mech!!! Getting the GOOD stuff! Cheesecake, you bring the cups and junk?"

"Yep!!"

Cheesecake was the only other fem the group knew of. And she was definitely more open compared to Elita. Literally, she was a buyfem. Prostitution wasn't a big deal to Cybertronian's, especially not compared to how humans thought of it. And she had been with anyone who had the pocket, but never really stayed into a relationship with them. She was in love, apparently, with some mech on Velocitron. They never got a name, or a face, but they knew he was a huge factor in her work. He was always sent a little bit of credits a month. While the worry from everyone was there, she assured everyone all was well. And with a smile as chipper as hers, it was hard to believe otherwise. She pulled out some cups, and forks. Rad raised a brow.

"Forks? For what?"

"Becaaause~..."

She let her sentence hang as she pulled out a small container. Upon removing the lid, everyone gawked.

"No. Way. Cheesecake, you did NOT."

"You're right. I didn't. My sweetspark on Velocitron remembered our anniversary, and scraped together enough money for me to buy something special. Soo, I snuck out, and bought us all the prettiest, biggest starlight cake they had! I mean, we're all graduating soon, off to bigger and better things, why not celebrate big time?"

Cake soaked in strong, triple filtered highgrade, with swirls of aged oil, straight from Torkulon. Topped with a delicate, purple lead sulfide shard. Rumor has it that eating a healthy bite of said dessert, sent a bot into complete bliss. That was starlight cake, and it deserved its adoration. Rad chuckled, placing his pedes on her lap. Cheesecake was the one fem he didn't hit on, for reasons no one really understood. 

"Cheesecake, baby, you're too good to us."

"I try. Now hold on, we're saving a piece for Afterburn, least we can do for him, letting us sit in his back like this. Sweet bot."

She tapped at the metal everyone was sitting on, and he chuckled.

"Not a problem. Better than you guys sitting on the ground. Hey speaking of, how much longer do we gotta wait?"

Elita checked her internal clock. 

"About a megacycle, guys."

Afterburn groaned under them, rocking back and forth.

"That's WAY too long to wait!"

The group clung on to whatever they could, with Cheesecake saving the snacks, Rad holding onto Wingsaber, and Sentinel being the rock for Optimus and Elita to cling to. Afterburn was a big fella, and rocking almost sent them flying. Had it not been for Optimus, someone would've been thrown off.

"A-afterburn! Come on, it's not that long!"

"It's...not?"

"No, not at all!"

They all sighed in relief once he stopped, finally letting go of whatever they were gripping.

"I mean, once we graduate, we won't see each other every morning like we're used to. So a megacycle? That's more cycles we have to enjoy each other. How we are now. And one day, you're gonna look back on this day, and think, 'I wished those megacycles lasted eternity'. I know I will."

Everyone let the words soak in, contemplating. Kup gave him the name 'Optimus' for a reason. Sentinel coughed into his hand, simultaneously saying 'gay!' during, and causing chuckles abound. Optimus's audial fins perked forward as he pouted, only for them to relax once Sentinel patted his helm, making him chuckle.

"I'm messing with you, Opti. I agree. But no matter WHAT goes on in the future, we're gonna stay friends. I guarantee it."

Elita nodded, holding up her plate of rust sticks and Starlight cake. Others lifted their drinks, some lifted their Jeeps. They chatted, all about what their futures entailed. Rad was going to work in the science field, 'stoked' to be under Perceptor's guidance. Cheesecake was going to be a public relations expert, Wingsaber was going to be a minor, hopefully in command of the air force, Afterburn was going to be a part of the royal guard, protecting Magnus's, alongside with Elita, Sentinel, and Optimus. The future looked bright, as the atmosphere lit up, full of cheers, taunts, and anticipation. Wingsaber was currently having everyone's attention, boldly proclaiming he was going to do all he could for the flying forces. During his slightly slurred, entertaining antics, Sentinel took the chance. He looked over at Elita, keeping his voice low.

"Hey Elita?"

"What's up?"

She was currently nibbling on a rust stick, (silver was always her favorite) when he prompted her for her attention. He struggled for a minute, before taking a deep breath, and forcing himself to go on.

"I...I want you to promise me something."

"No, I'm not gonna try to make out with Cheesecake. My job isn't to get you off."

"I wasn't gonna ask that. Yes we'd ALL enjoy it, but that's not what I wanted."

"Alright then, shoot."

They both took a moment to observe Wingsaber, almost tripping over his own pedes a few times. Whatever was eating Sentinel, clearly took a lot to force out. He did a rolling hand motion, as if he was prompting himself to go on.

"I...I want you to promise that we won't be apart from each other."

"Course we won't. Me, you, and Optimus-"

"N-no. I mean, I don't wanna be apart from Optimus either. And I'm gonna make him promise this too. But a promise from you is...different."

It took her a second to understand, but once his face erupted in blush, his optics averted, and his audial fins went flat, she knew what he meant. There was some heat to her cheeks, but she'd be lying if she said she didn't feel the same. Sentinel was full of himself, and rather cowardly, but...he cared about them. About her, about their friends, about his career. He held passion and want. And if she was a part of that...she was honored. She looked at his hand, the one that was supporting all of Sentinel's weight, and placed her hand onto his, lightly gripping one of his fingers. His audial fins perked up in surprise, and their optics met. He was so shy around her, just like their first day of bootcamp.

"I promise. I'm not leaving you, just like you wouldn't leave me."

"Elita…"

There was silence between them. But just before they could explore this moment, Optimus stood up, pointing to the sky, drink in hand.

"You guys! Watch the sky! We have ten kliks left!"

Everyone stood to attention, searching around frantically, dropping their drinks (minus Afterburn of course). And watched the sky. Optimus led the chant.

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"ONE!!!!"

Everyone shouted as loud as they could, and right when they got to one, Sentinel pulled Elita and Optimus up, allowing them to sit on his shoulders. A bit heavy, particularly from Optimus's side, but the excitement overrode the weight. Not to mention both of their faces flared, and their grins grew wide. Moments like these, were reasons why rumors about the three of them spread like absolute wildfire. 

"You alright up there, pal?"

He asked. Elita grinned, temporarily distracted from the main event.

"Think you broke him."

They had to force his hand away from his face, less he miss the show. It was debatable, which was brighter, Optimus's flustered face, or the stars above them. Either way, Sentinel was damn proud.  
They watched as the event filled the sky. Once every dozen stellar cycles, the stars above Cybertron underwent supernova. Normally this wouldn't be much to other planets, due to the distance of the stars. But with their ability to zoom their optics into the heavens, along with the fact that this cluster of stars were very close together, along with the fact that they were so close to a planet teeming with explosive substances, (energon) it led to a giant, colorful explosions in the sky. Yes there were fireworks, but this was magnificent.  
The stars exploded, going from bright, orange orbs, expanding immensely, turning giant and blue, before slowly dissipating, leaving behind only wisps of energy that was left. This USED to be an issue back in the day, what with these stars easily being the size of suns exploding so close to the planet, but technology assisted in this, making Cybertron's atmosphere resistant to the energy. Not completely (you'd feel the residual heat for at least a few solarcycles after), but definitely enough to stop scorching the planet. It's why bots took this event seriously. Not because it was gorgeous to look at, but because it was a reminder. A reminder that Cybertronian's can, and will overcome any obstacle that came their way. Be it Decepticons, or natural explosions.  
Sentinel stopped looking, for just a moment, to look at his friends. Everyone received a smile from him, but no one received a bigger smile than his two best friends. Elita and Optimus. He lifted his fists in the air, offering his fists to his friends, who gladly clanged their knuckles against him.

"It's us against the world, you two."

Elita grinned, nodding.

"Think it'll be ready for us?"

Optimus gazed back up at the explosions above them.

"They better be. Because I know WE are. For the elite guard!"

"For Cybertron!"

"For Friendship!!"

How naive she was. Ending the night on that sentence. Little did she know.

She checked her internal clock. That memory felt as if she went through the whole night, only, it turned out to be no more than a cycle at the most. She also realized he had been watching him this whole time, with him not even commenting on it. It felt as if they both went through the same night all over again.

"Yeah. I remember."

Sentinel scoffed, as if offended.

"You...took too long to answer. No way you know."

"I DO know."

"...then you know what happened after. Once we made it back to boot camp?"

She did remember. Her optics drifted as she was forced down memory lane yet again.

They were all walking back. Giddy, and full of spirits. Literally. Rad was even walking down the hallway with a plate on his head, completely out of it. Sentinel had his arms wrapped around Optimus and Elita, chuckling alongside everyone. They had somehow sneaked back into camp undetected, and the whole group looked ready to crash. Cheesecake sighed as she guided Rad towards the showers. She always stayed relatively sober during these things.

"I'm gonna take drunk bot to get a quick shower. Optimus, Wingsaber, mind helping me?"

Optimus and Wingsaber nodded, and Sentinel let him go. Afterburn would've helped, had he not just shut the door to the barracks. Cheesecake turned her helm to look at Elita, winking. Ah. Figures she'd leave them both alone on purpose. Sentinel chuckled as he looked down at Elita.

"You know...I'm really gonna miss not staying with them everyday. I've almost gotten used to the company. Even of Wing. Kinda."

"Hey, you're not the only one who's gonna miss these dorks. But at least you've got Optimus and I."

"Yeah...I do, don't I? Heh. I'm a lucky mech. Not as lucky as YOU two are, but lucky."

He pulled her a little closer, kissing the top of her helm. They were both a little out of it, but she didn't regret letting him do so. At the time. She looked up at him, looking at his dumb, inebriated smile. He was happy. She was happy. And from the commotion down the hall, so was Optimus.

"Let's just agree we're all lucky, or else I don't think id be able to tolerate you for much longer."

Sentinel removed his hand from around her shoulders, only to wrap them around her back, hands on her hips. Rumors went on and on about the trio's relationship, but they never really explored it. They certainly were close enough for it, particularly now.

"Ah come on, you love me."

"You sure about that?"

"I'd put a bet on it."

There was a shared giggle between them, then silence. She had her hands on his chest, and his hands didn't roam anywhere else. Did they want to? Of course they did. But he also didn't wanna get a kick in the pistons. However, this didn't stop him for going for something he wanted more than anything in the world;a kiss. He leaned down, slowly, further and further, but before his lips could reach hers, her servo reached up, blocking his lips. There wasn't anger there, but a bashful smile that'd make a mech go wild. She was flattered in that moment. She wanted to kiss him. She really did. She felt his lips at her fingertips, and was tempted to have them. Just once. Just once, she wanted to hold his giant, dumb face, and kiss him. Maybe she'd dismiss it in the morning. Maybe it'd delve into something more. But Elita had standards. If she was going to have her first kiss, she wanted it to be magical. Yes this was a good moment, dreamy even, but she wanted to be stunned. She wanted a kiss that would break the records. This wasn't it.

"I want to. Completely. But, I want it to be perfect. You know me."

Him and Sentinel did. If it wasn't perfect, be it her drinks or her grades, she wasn't interested. He let his grip of her hips go, as she scooted backwards. There wasn't any awkwardness. Only a proposal. She opened the door to their barracks, with Afterburn passed out, face covered in the treats from that night. Grins were all over their faces.

"Alright. If the timing is perfect, you're saying you'll let me?"

She gave him a lax, amused smile.

"You make it perfect, I'll gladly return the favor."

Both their minds were in the gutter at that, leaving them to clear their vocal processor. Who could blame them? They were young, dumb, full of love. And as Sentinel went to his own berth, right next to hers, they thought it was going to stay that way.

"Yeah. I remember that too."

Sentinel looked doubtful. But the look on his face was of a wounded puppy. He was hesitant, and she understood why. The fem he was in love with was...this, now. One would rather accept their loved ones dead, rather than suffering. And Blackarachnia was suffering. However, the difference between them, was that she was fighting her fate. She demanded perfection. Sentinel wasn't like her. He wanted to act impulsively, brashly. 

"You...you remember. Alright. Then you can answer my question. "

"I'm pretty sure I can. Go for it."

"What ...what did you tell me, right before we went into sleep mode that night?"

What she told him? Her claws lightly dug into the ground as she recalled.

She rolled to her side, looking over at Sentinel. Sentinel was at her left, while Optimus was fast asleep on her right. Sentinel rolled over to look at her, holding out his hand.

"Hope you're ready for perfection soon, just so you know."

"Mmm. You're pretty close, I'll give you that."

She reached over for his hand, kissing his palm, then placing it right on his face.

"But when we get there, you better be careful."

"How so?"

Sentinel didn't remove his hand from his face. He was trying to mimic the kiss any possible way he could, and keeping his hand there was the best he was gonna get. She chuckled, before rolling to her side, facing away from him.

"Because once it's perfect, I won't settle for anything less. Ever."

"Because once it's perfect, I won't settle for anything less. Ever. That's the last thing I said before we fell into recharge. Happy?"

The look on Sentinel's face was disappointment. She knew why. Instead of being some creature that was stealing her likeness, she WAS this creature. Sentinel had his doubts confirmed, and she saw the gears turn in that processor. There was silence between them, it being filled with the sound of twittering birds. Sentinel reached over slowly for her hand, slightly trembling.

"E...Elita. It IS you. I, it's YOU. I-I can't tell you how much I-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!!!"

Before she could even entertain the notion of halting herself, she abruptly slashed her claws against the back of his hand. She halted herself only when she noticed the blue paint on her claws. It may have been an extreme reaction, but the love in his optics only brought pain to her. And she was terrified of being so exposed.

"I'm NOT Elita. That's what I've been TRYING to tell you. I USED to be her. I'm Blackarachnia now. I CAN'T be that memory to you anymore. Things have changed. WE have changed. You can't...you can't TOUCH me anymore. You can't LOOK at me anymore. Not like you looked at Elita. Don't...don't do that."

Sentinel took his hand off of his wound. It was a good cut, but nothing that'd kill him. No energon leakage. There was silence. Then he just nodded.

"...okay. I get it."

"...do you. Really?"

"I do. I understand. You didn't cut deep enough anyway. Totally cosmetic wound. Fems will go nuts and bolts over scars anyway. Let's just get going. Lead on, you have the lance."

She hesitated. There was nothing, for the longest time. She didn't feel bad, but she did feel nervous. She hadn't recalled the last time his face was ever so stoic. Sentinel always expressive. Be it anger, sadness, fear. It was evident to the most dense bot, what Sentinel was thinking. But in this moment, his face was at rest. Stoic. She pulled out the lance, and found himself not reacting in the slightest. She forced herself to go on, destroying the foliage in her way, with Sentinel following close by. The walk was quiet. Neither of them commented as they went. Past tress, foliage, rivers and falls. By the time night fell, they were in the middle of nowhere, in pure darkness. Him speaking, after all this time, made her jump a little. 

"You sure we're going the right way?"

"Uh...pretty sure. We haven't changed direction since we started, I don't see how we could've gotten turned around."

"Fair enough. You always did have the better sense of direction. Here, let me put my light on."

He kept his lights on low, not to attract too much attention. He pointed the beams east, seeing the mountain in the distance. It looked a little bigger than it was yesterday, even if it was slightly. He turned to look at her, forcing her to cover her face, due to the light.

"How come we can't just transform and book it?"

"Waspinator, remember? We don't want his attention. Sturdy as your alt mode is, Waspinator can still tear you apart."

Blackarachnia couldn't help but shudder a little as she looked around. Dark. Cold. Terribly cold. Sentinel felt fine, of course, being a big mech with a big engine. Not to mention he wasn't half bug. Sentinel seemed to react to this, instinctively going to hold her, only to pull his hands away, glancing at the mark she left, going over his orange arrows. He looked around, noticing the pines. They'd do. He reached his hand out, and lowered his voice.

"Here, let me have the lance. I need to cut some branches to make a shelter."

She took a step back, clearly not wanting to give up such a weapon. He removed his shield, and offered it to her.

"We'll trade. You can have the shield for a bit, I can have the lance. Just for a while. You can have it back after."

He offered her a small smile. She plucked the lance from her back, looking at both deactivated tools. Worst case scenario, she can block until she had a good angle to inject her spider venom. She placed it into one of his palms, and took the shield. He activated his lance, while she simultaneously activated the shield. They stared at one another, until Sentinel turned, and began cutting down branches. It took him about twenty cycles, to cut it all down, set up the structure, and added a thick layer of pine branches. Not the best lean in shelter, but it'd do for the moment. He scooted himself inside, all the way to the left, and gestured her to his right. She stared at him, watching him past his head lights. It took a lot of mental preparation to agree, ducking down to join him, sitting on her knees. Making makeshift shelters like these were the absolute basics you learn at bootcamp, given that often times, one had to be in a desolate area. Much like they were now. Blackarachnia reached her hand out, and to her surprise, received the lance back, exchanging it for her shield. Sentinel pulled out his cloth once he got his shield back, rubbing away at the dirt and grime. Blackarachnia pulled out her blanket, wrapping herself up. Her body temperature was finally regulating. Be better if they had a fire, but she didn't trust an open flame and Sentinel in the same space.

"You look better. Take it the shelter is alright?"

"It's not bad. No luxury hotel, but it'll do. Glad you learned SOMETHING in bootcamp."

He chuckled, continuing to clean his shield. She was as far to the right of him as possible, not liking how...happy he looked. Did he snap? Was he waiting for her to sleep, then end her? She decided she might as well figure it out.

"So...what's with the happy face? Someone blow something upstairs?"

"I'm happy. You ARE Elita. You aren't...well. But you're Elita. When I found out that you WERE her, I was...tempted to put you out of your misery. But, you don't...LOOK like you're suffering. You're not lost. So instead of just ending you, we can take you to Cybertron. Get you some medical help, see what we can do. Things can get back to normal."

She gawked at him for a moment. Was he serious? He didn't think this was her first few thoughts upon her change? She shook her head. He clearly hadn't been listening to her this entire time.

"You...know that can't happen. Right?"

"Course it can. It'll be hard, but we'll manage. You just aren't well."

"Sentinel. I don't know how many times I can get this through to you."

She started, wrapping herself up firmly and leaning against the shelters wall. She fought off sleep, despite how desperately she wanted it, despite how alluring it was making itself. 

"I can't go back to Cybertron."

"Course you can. You just-"

"Shut. Up. Let me talk. Because you don't understand the simplest things. You HAVEN'T been understanding. I can't go back to Cybertron. I'm a freak of mechanics, for one. Not to mention decepticon. No known medical treatment can even purge me. You don't think that's the first place I went?"

Sentinel didn't say anything. But he was no longer smiling. Just...staring. She sat up now, given the attention she was getting was setting off alarms in her processor.

"I...don't think I can go to Cybertron, regardless. So much has changed. I've lied, fought, and killed to get where I am now. And even if I was welcome back on Cybertron, I wouldn't go back. You both left me, and with that, my hope to trust and need others."

"...so what IS your ultimate plan?"

"Honestly? Purge myself. Once I'm fully Cybertronian, my plan is to settle on one of those far off planets. Maybe move to Caminus. Heard they had some focus on the finer things in life. Take a permanent vacation."

"So...you're just going to leave?"

"Hey, let's not forget who left who first, Sentinel."

And that seemed to be his trigger. His brow furrowed, and a firm grip onto his shield.

"I. Did NOT leave you. I WANTED to go back for you. It was OPTIMUS who left you."

"As if that makes a difference!"

He was raising his voice at her, making her angry. How dare he get pissed off at HER?! Mr.Elite guard here was acting as if HIS life was ruined! He was no longer lax, but sitting up, face scrunched. She pushed her blanket aside, wanting her hands as available as they could be. She cut him off the second his lips moved.

"No, you're gonna let ME finish. It doesn't matter whose fault it is! BOTH of you fragged up! My two best friends in the entire universe, left me. To rot and fester in fear! Did you know, Sentinel, that I TRIED to do what you're doing? I TRIED going to Cybertron. I tried to talk to our old friends. One look at me, and they ran the other way, screaming. I couldn't get a WORD in. I tried getting medical care. No one wanted to touch me. They tried to offline me! I hid. I hid in the gutters of Cybertron for DAYS. The underground tunnels, eating whatever spark rats scattered about. You ever go down there? In that damp, dark place, hearing everyone live their lives JUST above me? Hearing bots laugh as I sucked energon from a dirty little rat? You wanna know what ended up happening BECAUSE of that?!"

Her voice was trembling. She felt weak again. She felt alone. She was in the underground again.

"I was recruited. Megatron found me. He took me aboard the Nemesis. He fed me. He gave me a chance to make something out of my deformity. And I had to do one thing. One thing, not spoken in terror. One rule to agree to, and I'd have a life. Not my old life, but a life. Something no one else would let me have. You wanna know what that thing was?"

The nemesis. She remembered the classes she took, about the history of the ship. Her new optics looked around at the dark, purple lighting. She felt dirty. Grimey. Foreign. Two decepticons at her side. One was big and green, the other a seeker, looking almost bored. They were silent as they guided her down the halls. She didn't like it.

"So...who keeps forgetting to pay the electricity around here?"

The seeker, (whom she'd later identify as Starscream) rolled his optics.

"Our good ol' leader, Megaglitch. He says it's for 'aesthetics'. Moron."

The green decepticon, (whom she'd learn was Lugnut) punched the wall next to him, making both the other bots jump a little, and halt themselves. Not to mention a pretty good dent in the wall.

"You shall NOT stifle the glory of Megatron's mighty name!!!"

Starscream sighed, before looking at her and gesturing to Lugnut. 

"Forgive him. He's Megatron big, dumb lap pooch. Who can't do anything but preach his gospels. And punch things. Only thing he's gonna use that fist for anyway."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT."

Blackarachnia blinked, and thought of making a break for it, when Starscream put his hand on her shoulder, making a chill down her spine. She didn't trust a decepticons touch, but was too freaked out to lash out and protect herself. 

"Please. Ignore him. Let's get you cleaned up. You smell like dead spark rats, and we can't have that."

Lugnut grumbled as he walked along with them, taking her to their shower area. It was sparkling clean, with tiled floors. Purple, of course. Starscream gestured her forward.

"Go on. Body gels are in the cabinets. Use as much as you have to."

"And AVOID the hot tub. That is property of Megatron!"

"For the love of- will you go report to him like he asked?"

He obeyed, practically running in eagerness. Starscream sighed, before placing his palm next to his mouth.

"Use the tub if you want. I use it all the time when everyone is in recharge. No one notices."

The doors closed. She bathed, feeling herself drowned out in a flurry of new, rich scents. She was in the washrooms for who knows how long. Clearly too long, given how grumpy Starscream looked, waiting for her to walk out. 

"You take too long. Least you don't stink anymore. Come, bucket head has been waiting for you."

That was when she met him. She's seen him in textbooks, heard stories of his wrath and might from Kup and other bots who fought in the great war. He sat there in his captains chair, mumbling something to Lugnut. When her optics met his, he turned, and stood up, arms opened in symbolic welcoming. 

"Ah, there she is. I was wondering what was taking you. Did you enjoy the washrooms?"

"..."

She found herself just nodding. He was HUGE. His plasma cannon was just as big as she was. His optics were deep, firm. His face and body language were charming. He was a gentlemech. It was a good facade.

"Ah. I apologize. I've been told I'm rather...intimidating. I'm just very delighted to meet you. I'm sure you know who I am."

"Megatron."

"Ah, so she does speak. How lovely. Lugnut, fetch the fem some energon. She's practically wasting away."

Lugnut nodded, bringing up a silver tray, with a tall glass of energon. She felt herself licking her lips. Energon. Pure energon. And she didn't even have to hunt it down first. She greedily grabbed the glass, and gulped it down, not at all savoring it. She easily finished it in mere kliks. Megatron lightly chuckled.

"Someone was hungry. I understand how unbearable that hunger is. It's torment. Truly. It is why I have a proposal for you. A genuine proposal, to dispel-"

"Can we cut to the chase? No offense, but you're losing me here."

Megatron chuckled.

"Ah, no pretty words for you. I admire that. Very well then, cutting to the chase. I want you to join me."

"If I refuse, you'll kill me, right?"

"Not at all."

"...I'm sorry, what?"

"I won't kill you. But let's face it. The autobots will. You're an outcast. Different. A social pariah. You and I are much alike. Discriminated. Abused. Ridiculed. We understand you. Maybe not completely, but far more than they do. I fight to give us miscreants a chance."

"You kill. Hardly a fight when you look like you eat big green over there for breakfast."

Starscream coughed into his hand, trying to mask his 'he fragging WISHES'. He received a glare from them both, but was otherwise left alone. Megatron continued. 

"I have killed, yes. But my battle history does not do anything against the wall that is the autobot government. It is but an iron filling in the metal wall that separates us, and our rightful lives."

She hugged herself, taking a step away.

"I'll...pass. Believe it or not, the trust isn't really there."

"YOU DARE REFUSE THE MIGHTY-"

"Lugnut. Indoor voices. I apologize. Lugnut...is a very passionate follower. You may leave if you'd like. But you fail to see the bigger picture."

"Then help me see it. I'm seeing the mech thats killed millions, standing right in front of me, trying to join his little corpse party."

"If you go back to Cybertron, you will only resort to where you were when we found you. Struggling...scraping by. But with us? You have fuel. Shelter. A place to bathe. Not to mention...the freedom."

"Freedom?"

"Exactly. The freedom to do as you please. We are giving you a chance to fight. A chance to find what you seek."

"And you know what that is?"

"I do. You want to purge yourself. With our knowledge of science, combined with your...unique attributes, you actually have a chance."

"...there's a catch. Isn't there?"

A chuckle slowly bubbled from his throat.

"Ah, you caught me. Someone is VERY clever. There's one thing you must do, in exchange for all I give you."

"And thats?"

"Lugnut. Box."

Lugnut came forward, placing a box on the table in front of them. Megatron opened the box fully, revealing the items inside. A decepticon badge, and a helmet.

"All I ask, is that you allow me to put these upon you, and repeat after me. This is to prove yourself to the cause. Think about it, for but a moment. All this time, they sought to squish you. Will you let them? Or will you fight back?"

His optics grew harsher, determined. 

"You have fangs. Allow us to help you inject your venom into those who have wronged you."

She thought about it. Ultimately...what choice did she have? She nodded. Megatron smiled, carefully removed her autobot badge, and placed the purple symbol on her neck. He held the helmet above her helm.

"Repeat after me. Word for word. 'I pledge my unquestioning loyalty to Megatron and the decepticon cause. I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of a decepticon controlled Cybertron. By any means necessary. And annihilate all who have driven us from our rightful homeworld. Surrender is not an option.'"

"Primus sake, you couldn't have picked something shorter?"

Lugnut raised his fist up.

"It's not long! I say it every night before berth!"

Megatron's optic twitched. 

"Lugnut. What did we say about sharing things?"

"Don't make it weird…"

"Exactly. Now, go on. Word for word."

She sighed, but went on. She didn't feel like joining some cult, but what ELSE could she do?

"Alright alright… I pledge my unquestioning loyalty to Megatron and the decepticon cause. I shall devote my spark to achieving our goal of a decepticon controlled Cybertron. By any means necessary. And annihilate all who have driven us from our rightful homeworld. Surrender is not an option."

"Welcome to the cause. Now that you're a decepticon, you have earned your freedom. Do with it what you will...I'm sorry, what was your name?"

She was free. She was changed. She needed a change to go with it.

"I'm...Blackarachnia."

"Welcome to the cause. Blackarachnia."

He placed the helmet carefully upon her helm. Her fate, from then on, was sealed. For solar cycles, she sought out paths to cure herself, simultaneously helping Megatron. Be in the science fields, or wooing her way in and out of every situation. And the lives. The lives she'd taken. All in the name of Megatron's so called freedom.

"I gave him the best of me I could. I gave him my LIFE. Because I was desperate. Because I was scared. So don't you sit there, and try to make it seem like I abandoned you. Don't sit there, and make it seem like I gave up. Because I didn't. I tried. I WANTED my life back. So don't you sit there, wagging a treat in front of my face, when over and over again, it's been taken from me. There is NO way to get back what I had. It's gone. ELITA is gone. So stop calling me that. I'm Blackarachnia. Elita died. I was never out to tell you I am her. I WAS her. So get that stupid idea out of your processor. Because I'm NOT saying with you. I'm alone. The only thing we have in common now? We're both cowards. Wanting to survive in this dog eat dog world."

She didn't notice till now, that she had started crying. Tears ran down her face, too fast and too strong for her to stop them. Her shoulders were shaking. Not just her shoulders, she knew when she felt something, her entire body felt it. Her entire being, spark and all, was quivering. She tried to force herself to stop, detesting how absolutely weak she felt. Sentinel's face, meanwhile, was completely stoic. Why was SHE the mess, and he was completely fine? It wasn't fair. HE did this. All SHE did was support him. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. She got back on her knees quickly, covering her face with her blanket. She tried to shut herself up, even by covering her mouth. It did nothing. All she could do was sit there, and sob. She didn't know how long she was crying for. But as she inevitably slipped into recharge, she had one last thought. That she wished she never even knew this blue, big chinned coward. He was no friend. 

Was he ever?


	3. Hesitant forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blackarachnia and Sentinel continue their trek across the island. Ever since the fight previously, things are tense. From Sentinel's perspective, we see if they recover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note. This came in way later than i hoped for, but its here! It was actually done yesterday, but i was waiting for one of my biggest fans, @cookienerdzzz to be ready to read it. I hope you guys like it!

Sentinel slowly booted up the next morning. He took a gander around, and was surprised to see HE was the one awake first. Blackarachnia was in the corner, wrapped up in her little bundle, snoozing along calmly. He had thought, for a moment, that seeing her in tears last night was his imagination, but he took one look at her face, and realized this wasn't so. Her lips were pursed, as they always were when she cried herself to sleep. It was funny, how so much changed in the fem he was in love with, yet the core of her remained the same. He stood up, and stretched, metal clunking together. He really missed sleeping on an actual recharge slab, rather than this gross, earth dirt and foliage. He looked past the makeshift shelter, to the mountain ahead of them. Long way to go, unfortunately. 

"Oh Elita...look at what we've gotten ourselves into."

He looked back into the shelter. He hadn't stopped thinking about what she told him last night. That she was Elita. What she had done to survive. How alone she was. Course this didn't excuse her turning rogue, but at least she HAD a reason. Sentinel was the smartest mech he knew, and he decided, if he was going to deal with this fem, he had to be nice. Nicer than usual, but hey, a prime had to do what a prime had to do. He put weight on his bad pede, and after feeling only minimal pain, walked on ahead, his shield at the ready. It was early morning, the earth's sun barely illuminating the scene before him. Fog hung heavy in the air, cooling his joints, and even felt soothing on his pede. He looked around for a moment, scoffing.

"Stupid planet...how does ANYTHING survive if there's nothing but these leaves? There's gotta be SOMETHING here…"

He grumbled, continuing to look around in the foliage. He hated this savage planet. First the raccoon attacking his precious face, getting a look at the inside of a snake, and these stupid shrubs kept scuffing him up further, scratching his paint. It only took him a few more moments of searching before he decided to stop being nice about it. He brought forth his shield, and swung it against the bush in frustration, reducing it to twigs. Twigs, and nothing else, it seemed. The fact that he was still looking was insanity, but the fact that nothing was turning up, was even more awful. Though, he wasn't even sure what he was looking for to begin with. Think, had she described them before? Briefly, if he remembered right.

"So...clustered...aha!!"

He found it! Sure they were up rather high in the tree, but they were there. He placed his shield on the ground, and leapt up, grabbing a branch and hoisting himself up. He grabbed the branch above him, and gave it a shake, watching his shield fill up with blackberries. He had no idea what she was complaining about, these trees were practically showering him with these things. Figures, he was a better scavenger than even the organic. Once he saw his shield was full, he got down,(despite the pain in his ankle from him landing onto the ground) and picked his shield up, walking back to the site. She was the same as when he left her, snoozing along in their little shelter, wrapped in her cocoon of webbing. He put the shield down, and stood in front of it, blocking it from her view. He kicked her pede, and she stirred rather grumpily.

"Primus sake, it's already morning?..."

She gave him a glare, upon realizing just who was greeting her. He decided not to say anything about that, despite how much he wanted to. Fems DREAMED about waking up next to him, she should consider herself lucky.

"Yep. Means we gotta get going."

She groaned, sitting up, and starting to fold up her blanket, to use later.

"Alright. But I need to go hunting, my tanks are almost empty, and my stomach could be fuller."

"You won't have to. Guess who found you plenty of blackberries?"

"...you're kidding."

That held her interest. Not just the fact that he found some, but the fact that he brought it for her. Especially given last night.

"Not at all. It was a bit heavy, but I figured it'd be a peace offering, given...yesterday. We didn't exactly leave on good terms. So, to keep you from eating me like that snake from yesterday...I went foraging. I know I know,"

He started, folding his arms across his chest, and chin in the air, as if waving a flag in pride.

"I'm just that selfless. So, how does that sound? Peace, in exchange for a meal."

She scowled, thinking about it. It was free eats, at least.

"Alright, deal. Now fork it over, I could eat a horse."

"...could you?"

"Have, actually."

Sentinel didn't bother asking too many questions, so he picked up his shield, and plopped it in front of her, sitting down to watch her reaction. She made the motion to leap towards her meal, only to suddenly sink back down. He raised a brow. Why wasn't she eating?

"What? Are they bad?"

"They aren't blackberries, you dumbaft."

She sighed, holding her face in her hands, in clear disappointment. He raised his hands up, practically ready to call slag.

"What?! But you said they're like, little clusters, and they uh, got little things poking out of them right?"

"Yes. But they're blackish purple. They're also fruit."

"What even IS a fruit?!"

He exclaimed, gesturing towards the pile in between them. She carefully picked one up, turning it over in her claws.

"You did find a TON of chestnut burrs though. So...congrats on that. I mean you failed, but you did something."

"So...you can't eat them?"

"I could, it has little nuts inside, but the effort isn't worth it. I'd waste energy getting them out, AND precious time."

He grumbled, plucking his shield and dumping its contents onto the forest floor. Of course she'd be ungrateful for any work he DID do for her. Here he was, actually putting in an effort, and she just dismissed him. That's what he got for being nice to some organic. Even if that organic used to be his absolute best friend. He brought forth his pede, revealing the torn, loose webbing.

"Well even if you aren't happy with my good deeds, I still need you to fix up my pede."

She rolled her optics, clearly not happy with his demand. She complied however, peeling off the webbing from his pede, stuffing it in her subspace, and using some webbing she saved from yesterday. After a moment or two, she was done, and his pede felt a million times better. He stood up, put some weight on it, and seemed satisfied. Blackarachnia checked the area for anything that could easily be tracked, and upon being satisfied, brought forth the lance, and leading the way. They walked along, doing the same as yesterday. They weren't particularly chatty, and the wilderness around them wasn't interested in breaking the silence. Suffice to say, she wasn't over yesterday's events. It wasn't his fault though! How did she expect him to, first of all, know that she WAS his Elita? Let alone what had happened to her. If anything, it was her fault, not immediately coming to him for help.  
Now that he thought more on it, it WAS her fault. He cared, she clearly didn't. When he thought about telling her just that, she stopped, almost making him collide right into her.

"The frag is-"

"Look."

She pointed in front of them. There was no more foliage, but a giant cliff side. She sighed, and clipped the lance to her back.

"Ready to go rock climbing?"

"We have to climb THIS? Can't we go around?"

"No. For one, it'd take too long. Two, there is no around. Look."

She pointed around them, to show a further stretch of the rock wall.

"We're in a giant bowl. Unless you're interested in digging under, or you've been hiding a propeller in thatchin of yours, we're climbing."

She transformed into her bug mode, and began climbing with little to no effort. Sentinel sighed. It'd be a lot easier if he had his lance, but he had to make do with what he had. He brought forth his shield with a sigh.

"Sorry beautiful. I'm not exactly prepared with climbing gear."

Was this going to be awkward? Yeah. But the mountain was too slick to get a good firm grip, so he'd have to carry on. He jabbed his shield a bit above his head, onto the rock, and pulled, hoisting himself up. This mountain had rocks in the most inconvenient places, making his method pretty inconsistent. Sometimes his foot had a place to push himself up, sometimes he had to use his upper body to pull himself up. The only consistency was the slamming of his shield, the push to climb further, and, most annoyingly-

"Primus sake was I ever this slow?"

Her. He groaned as he slammed his shield into the rock again, and yanked, barely catching hold onto a rock with his left hand.

"Was I ever THIS annoying?"

"Ha!"

As if to show off, she stopped climbing, turning her body around to give him a good look at those rather sharp fangs. Not exactly something he was eager to climb to. 

"You being an annoying, privileged mech is pretty much your entire character profile. You're literally the poster child for 'douche antagonist'. So yeah, pretty annoying."

"You know what's REALLY annoying?"

He growled. He stopped for a moment, to glare at her. Even through all those buggy optics and fang filled mouth, he could tell she was grinning.

"The fact that you're just LETTING me struggle here. If you carried me, we would've been to the other side by now!"

"Aw, how cute!"

She giggled. She transformed into her bot mode, claws into the cliff to keep her from falling.

"You want me to touch you. Don't you Sentinel?"

Something was different about this taunt. She'd made jabs at his sexuality before, but the way she was saying it, right here and now, in her robot mode, made his processor blank. He felt as if the only working part in his whole body, was his spark, which was working overtime, trying to force something in response. Luckily his body was an absolute temple, a well oiled machine prepared for any situation with only the best reflexes. Which was made very clear as he lost his footing, and was unable to grab the shield in time. Next thing he knew, he was failing. No trees to cushion him, and as only his own screams seemed to make sounds, he had a feeling bushes wouldn't be available either. Right before he braced for impact, ready to feel his weight catch up to him far too quickly, he stopped. He onlined his optics again, not quite remembering when he offlined them. His face was but a few inches from the ground, and the trees hung upside down. He forced himself to look up, upon coming to the conclusion that the trees weren't upside down, but rather, he was.

"You…"

He started, not quite sure what to make of the scene. She had turned back into her spider form, and from the fanged mouth of hers, was the silk webbing, which was keeping him suspended. She walked backwards, to reach the top of the cliffside, before yanking him towards her. Once he made contact with the stable surface, he just gawked at her. She transformed into robot mode again, and started tucking away the silk she had just used to save him. She nearly scratched his paint off, trying to get the bit that was still on his back. 

"You know, you could've just said 'yes' to my question. Didn't have to literally fall for me."

She gave a cocky smile, same as she always did whenever she said something that she thought would frazzle him. Only, it went one audial and out the other.

"You...you saved me."

"Yeah. Need you for death fodder, remember?"

"I wouldn't have died from that. Plenty hurt, sure, but I would've survived. And the webbing takes fuel. I know this. YOU know this."

She halted for a moment, in the middle of tucking away her bundle of webs. She stared off into space, realizing he was...right. It was a rarity, sure, but he was right. He could've survived. She shook her helm quickly, closing her subspace. She walked past him, and transformed.

"You would've needed help moving. Was easier to just save your sorry aft. Now climb down without me having to waste more energy. Meet you at the bottom."

Before he could respond to her, she disappeared down the cliffside. He looked down at his pede, still wrapped firmly in webbing. He deserved help of course, but something...something about her willingness to help, made him think for a minute. Was he thinking too much about this? Yes he had a charm to him that made fems do whatever he wanted, but Blackarachnia was no fem. Well, not a normal one, anyway.

"I...I wonder if-"

"HURRY UP, IF I HAVE TO COME UP THERE AGAIN I'M GONNA EAT YOUR FRAGGING LEG!"

Her yelling snapped him out of his thoughts, and he was rather happy for it. His mind was going somewhere terrifying. He peered down the cliff, to catch the optics of a very impatient fem. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to struggle down the cliff like he was just doing. The judgemental look on her face made him want to turn it around. She was PITYING him. Pity, for the primer prime! Have you ever heard of something so ridiculous? This was the same fem that practically swooned after watching his training sessions. And he was more than willing to prove he was still worthy of admiration. Not really sure why he wanted it, but honestly, it was irrelevant. He brought out his shield, and put his good pede on the cliffside. This was either very stupid, or incredibly genius. 

"Wait, I'M doing it. Ergo this is an amazing idea, duh."

Then he pushed himself forward, and immediately regretted it. He slid down, then the next thing he knew, he was plummeting down the cliffside. It was so steep, he was practically falling again. As to how he kept himself upright, as to how he hadn't fallen off, as to how he didn't break his dentae from the constant rattling, and how he thought this was a good idea, was completely beyond him. He screamed as he felt his body practically being yanked downward, and thanks to a piece of rock sticking out, was practically thrown off, and was sent flying right into a nearby tree, saving his golden looks by bringing his shield to his face, and curling into a ball. Once he finally stopped moving, he onlined his optics again. Its official, he was sick of gravity and its absolute slag.

"Yo, dumbaft! You break anything?!"

He looked down from the tree, slowly, not wanting to jiggle his shield out of its position from the tree. She was under him, arms folded, brow raised.

"What. Was THAT? I literally don't understand what levels of stupidity you'd have to have, to make such a stupid decision. I've met bots at my own mercy with more sense of preservation than you apparently do."

"I...I didn't want to have you help me down. I'm the PRIMER PRIME! I can do things my-"

He screamed as he put too much weight on one side, falling down, thankfully on a pile of leaves to cushion his fall. Unfortunately it did nothing for his poor face, which felt the brunt of his shield as it fell right down. He groaned loudly, holding his pained face.

"I fraggin hate gravity."

That was when he heard it. For the first time in who knows how long, he heard it. Her laughter. It was a slow build up, her desperately trying to keep it tucked away, before it forced its way out. It was the first time he heard her have genuine emotions. The first time he saw her free of anger or malice. She laughed so hard she had to lean against a tree, the back of her hand wiping the tears forming in her optics, with her other hand holding her gut. He couldn't help but gawk at the completely honest emotion, unaware that it was even possible for her. After a cycle, she recovered enough to lock her optics onto his.

"Y-you're SO stupid, holy shit!"

It wasn't her even attempting to be offensive, but more just stating this in surprise. He remembered her being like this one other time. One very important time.

"I swear I got it this time!"

"I dunno Sentinel, I feel like-"

"Stop feeling!"

Sentinel barked. He held his lance up, and brandished his face mask. He was training with Optimus, and was trying desperately to perfect a certain move for their next test. Kup minor had a firm hand, and Sentinel would be damned if he disappointed his minor. Optimus was trying to hit the books, but was only dragged into this sparring by Sentinel. He was a good fighter, but he struggled to learn new tricks, causing Optimus to be his constant partner. Optimus slid his mask on, and wielded his axe.

"Alright, fine, fine. But only for a few more cycles. We have to study for the written portion too, you know."

Optimus raised a brow skeptically.

You HAVE been studying right?"

"Yeah sure totally-FIGHT ME!"

He leapt forward, bringing his lance down, only to be blocked by Optimus's axe, letting him push Sentinel back. And that's when he saw her. He hadn't talked to her yet, but that didn't make her any less incredible. Soft, green plating, plush, green lips, and her most striking feature, those big, blue optics that put stars to shame. She was watching them, eager to see what they were made of. And Primus, did that look drive him wild. He knew he HAD to have her attention. 

"Okay, you're getting there. Try it again, this time-"

"Hey, who's got the lance here? Just defend!"

He lunged forward, hoping to get a hit, only to find himself on the floor, due to Optimus flinging him by his own axe. He was going to score his point when he saw his saw sudden audience. He practically ignored Sentinel as his face mask slipped back, revealing his rather flushed cheeks. He wasn't surprised, his little buddy had good tastes, it was one of the reasons why they were friends. Optimus softly lifted his hand, giving a slow, almost hesitant wave.

"Oh...hi."

"Hey."

She chuckled. She stepped up to the podium, and bent down to take his lance, briefly brushing their servos together. 

"You mind if I show you where you went wrong?"

"First of all, I totally know what I'm doing. Two, if being wrong meant an excuse to get to know you, then I don't wanna be right."

She blinked at him. She'd heard many pick up lines, being a fem, but it took something special to do so while on the floor, previously defeated. She couldn't resist herself, and started laughing, back of her hand on her helm, with her leaning on the lance to keep herself from keeling over. It took a klik for her to recover, sealing her fate with her next words.

"Y-you two are just...hoo boy. I like you two. It's official,"

She started. She walked past Optimus, only to thrust forward, lance sending Optimus to the floor, joining Sentinel.

"You two are stuck with me."

She rested the lance on her shoulder, before turning to walk out. Sentinel and Optimus stared at the spot where she previously stood, before looking at each other.

"So...she's…"

"Worth a little friendly competition?"

"NOT an item to be won, Sentinel."

"Oh come on,"

He started, standing up to offer Optimus a hand.

"She's INTO us. Mainly me, but you're a cute mech, think you caught a little bit of her interest."

Optimus raised a brow as he was hoisted up.

"Did...did you just call me cute?"

"You act like I'm the only one who thinks that."

He snickered, letting go of his hand to wrap his arm around Optimus, practically squeezing him and those vulnerable, protoform like cheeks.

"Now, we going after this fem, you and me? She seems worth the trouble."

"She seem worth the trouble to get your weapon back?"

"...slaggit. Alright let's go literally chase after her."

It was stupid enough to make Optimus snort, but despite it being at his expense, he couldn't help but laugh along with him, dashing down the hall to find their new thieving friend. It was something he'd be willing to do often, if it meant having these two at his side.

Shame sentimentality only does so much. 

"Yo Piston head, you get processor damage? Hello?"

"Hmm? What?"

There was no more Optimus, no more barrelling after Elita down a hallway, her using his lance as an excuse to be near him. Just him in a pile of leaves, covered in dirt and scratches, staring up at an impatient looking fem.

"I said, do you have processor damage? Seriously you suddenly just stared up into nothing."

"Uh...yeah. I just remembered something. I'm fine."

He stood up, and dusted the leaves off of his frame, lifting his shield off the ground.

"Lead the way."

"Gladly."

She brought out his lance, and led the way. She didn't need the lance as much now, given that the foliage was thinning out, turning to an almost plain area. And she didn't particularly care for being exposed out in the open like this. Sentinel noticed her being almost skittish, constantly looking around.

"You're tense."

"We're out in the open. I don't know how much of a plain area this place has, but I don't like us being exposed like this."

"Plus side, nothing can sneak up on us either. "

"Wow. Dunno what that fall did, but that's a fair point."

Speaking of, she took a minute to glance around, content with the fact that only a few bugs crawled near them, with none of them being so big as to cause concern. She kept walking ahead, glancing at the sky. The sun was setting.

"How long do you think we have?"

"Before total darkness? About a megacycle. Maybe a mega cycle and a half, at the very most."

She squinted her optics to see ahead, but only saw a blurr. He leaned a bit into her personal space, to see what she was looking at.

"What are you trying to see, anyway?"

"What's ahead of us. Stupid spiders have SHIT sight."

"Well, foliage continues up ahead. Might take us half a megacycle to get there. We have to keep trekking there anyway, I don't see how I can make us a shelter outta dirt."

"Well, I can burrow underground for myself. Maybe I'll just stuff you underground, like a little mole."

"I'm...gonna be honest I have no idea what a mole is."

"Right, sorry, stupid. It's a mammal that lives underground. Hates the sun."

"I already hate it."

He was a bit surprised when he found that it made her chuckle. Yes she was still being a snarky, rude fem, but at least she was making herself more tolerable. Primus knows he deserved having a hospitable companion. The ground, and the sun, were definitely not being cooperative. Their trek was killing him, with his systems warning him of an impending overheat, recommending that he find a way to cool himself down. As if he wasn't aware of his own steaming frame. He was brought out of pout when Blackarachnia halted him.

"You're steaming."

"Thanks."

Her face churned into a snarl. 

"Don't flatter yourself, you slag head. You got steam pouring out of your damn audials. You're gonna overheat before we make it there."

"I'll be f-fine."

His vocalizer slightly glitched. When a Cybertronian goes through overheating, with no proper way of ventilation, their body starts turning off the systems that weren't essential to survival. It came in stages. First the vocalizer. ThenIimpaired audials. Woozy processor. Loss of feeling in limbs. Blindness. Shut down of the HUB. Then the spark. The time always varied, but from the static bubbling in his intake, he had a feeling he was going to get his symptoms far quicker than most.

"Why aren't Y-oU dying?"

Primus even his voice was fluctuating. Blackarachnia looked around wildly, in search of something. 

"Half organic. Like snakes, spiders handle our environment pretty well. I really only have to worry about the cold. Let's see...ah!"

Her optics glanced to a nearby tree, and he saw what had her attention. A little bird, its wings flapping a million miles a minute. She transformed, and slowly crept up on the bird. Sentinel's processor blanked on him for a minute, making his words VERY difficult to communicate. He held his hand out to her, mumbling for her to stop. He understood she needed fuel, but his situation felt much more desperate. 

'Don't hunt. Please. I need help. Please.'

His words came out as slurs and glitchy static. The bird suddenly flew off in the other direction, and Blackarachnia practically pushed him to the side to chase after it, causing Sentinel to crash onto the ground. He had no strength to get up. He tried, desperately, but all he could do was lift his servos, as if that'd bring her back. The last thing he saw before his optics shut themselves off, was her scuttling across the ground, in pursuit of her prey. 

And the thought of him being a priority to her, clouding his helm.

\---------------

His HUB restarted, him suddenly snapping up in surprise. The air around him was dark, cold. He performed a self diagnosis, and despite the fuel shortage that'd come to bite him in the aft later, his body was fine, fully functional thanks to self repair. He sputtered as his frame was suddenly showered in water. He looked up above him, to see her, pouring water over his helm.

"Hey, you're awake. Good, thought I'd have to end up eating you. Which I don't want to, because you look as tasty as fish bones."

He stared up at her, perplexed. He looked ahead of him, to see a small body of water, and a tree over their helms.

"You...I thought you left me. You just went off hunting and-"

"Wrong. You were overheating, and I knew you needed something to cool you down. So when I noticed that little birdy, I chased after it. Following them, more often than naught, leads ya to water. I followed it here, went back for you, and dragged you all the way here. I haven't stopped covering you in water. Seriously, it was rough, I really wanted a drink. Now sit there and let me take a break."

She went to her knees, and cupped water in her hands, eagerly letting the liquid past her lips. Sentinel just...stared at her. She saved him. Twice, in one day. Yes he deserved it, sure, but it was just jarring. For someone so snarky, she was...merciful towards him.

"Why...did you do it?"

"Hold on."

She took a few more gulps, before sighing in clear relief.

"Okay, I'm good. I needed that. And it's because I need a shield, case bug boy decides he wants us for dinner."

"You...keep SAYING that, but-"

"Oh? What, you think I care about you? Don't flatter yourself, Senty. I'm just trying to survive."

She averted her gaze from him, pulling her blanket out to cover herself. He sat there for a moment, staring at the water in front of them. So calm. Cool. Yet, he's never felt more uneasy. He took a deep inhale, hoping the fumbling of his thumbs would help him form a proper sentence. 

"Look...I uh-"

He stopped right there. Despite her being wrapped up in her cocoon of webbing, she was freezing cold. He checked his HUB, and according to his thermostat, -3.9°C. Freezing, enough to kill any normal organic. 

"You're cold."

"No, I like trembling, it's my new fragging hobby."

"So, you're gonna lighten up if I build a fire?"

He saw her nod, slowly. Her motions were as if she was moving through sludge, honestly starting to panic him a little. Was that normal? Was she going through her own shut down? He looked around frantically, and he stood up, starting to peel the bark from the single tree above them. It wasn't much, but it'd be enough. He placed the bundle in front of him, looking around.

"Slag...I need a kindle."

She, rather gradually, lifted her hand towards him. Webbing from the day before. He carefully took it from her hand, as if worried he'd break her if he moved too quickly. Thankfully there were a few rocks nearby, perfect for sparks. A few attempts, and the sparks caught the webbing on fire. He blew at the embers, and soon enough, a small fire started, eventually blossoming into a bright flame. She reacted immediately, practically shoving him away to get closer, as if scared he'd hog it for himself. 

"Oh...for the love of primus. That's the good stuff. Hah...my hands were FREEZING from the water."

He noticed her relax almost immediately, practically sinking into the sand. He gave a small sigh in relief. A happy spider was a safe spider. He picked up a few more nearby rocks, and set them by the fire. Once he got a good pile, he looked up at her. Her lips were curled into a smile of content, and her hands rubbed together to harvest more warmth. The fire illuminated her soothed, tranquil face. He realized, that against his better judgment, he had to say something, rather than just skim over today's events. He took a deep inhale, enough to expand his frame, before slowly sinking back down. Now.

"Hey, uhm...we should talk."

"I agree. Let's start from your personality, and work our way up to that chin."

"First of all, fems dig the chin. Second, that's not what I meant. I meant...I appreciate you saving me."

"The first or the second time?"

"Uh...both."

"Ah. Again, it's not for you. I really wouldn't think about it too much."

"Well...I did. But I just...I guess...hoo this is hard."

"Wow, with a fem, hard as helix, and no hope in sight. Bet that sounds familiar."

"Okay, quit stepping on my crotch plate for just two kliks."

"Be the only time a fem would touch ya there."

He gave her a look, audials fallen back. She gave a grin of cockiness, before waving at him.

"Alright, I'm done. Least until I think of another one. Keep floundering, I'm loving it."

"...alright. Well, I'm...I'm sorry."

"You're...what?"

Her red, buggy optics blinked in surprise. Suffice to say, she wasn't expecting it. He rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze.

"I...I'm sorry. For the overheating, for the cliff...and for the planet. Optimus is plenty guilty sure, but I...I kinda realized I never actually said sorry."

He looked back up at her, hesitantly. Something about this new facial expression made his spark swell with unease.

"Blackarachnia. I'm sorry. I want to make things go back to how they were. But I can't. I lost my Elita one. I won't forgive myself for that, or Optimus. But...I can try. If you let me."

He plucked some excess webbing she had pulled out earlier, and dumped some of the fire stroked rocks inside the little bundle, wrapping it up tightly. It was warm, soft, comforting. It wasn't a heater, but it was better than nothing. He opened his hands to her, offering the little hand warmer. She glanced at it, almost suspiciously, before she leaned over, and took it from him. She practically melted at the warmth in her hands, sighing. She chose to keep her optics on the bundle, rather than looking at him.

"That's pretty big of you, honestly. Primus knows you hate saying sorry. Remember that time you threw a rustycoon right at Cheesecake's face?"

"In my defense, I said duck."

This brought a snicker to her lips. Those were good times, their antics at the academy. He didn't say anything as he watched the light of the fire dance across her frame. She seemed busy, letting her gift warm her poor servos. It felt like an eternity before she found her glossa again.

"I...well, I'm not an easy lady. It's gonna take a LOT more than an apology and some rocks. But, it's not a bad effort. You only make me SLIGHTLY regret saving you. Twice."

"I'll take slightly."

He sighed, suddenly feeling a weight lifted off of his shoulders. They both stared at the fire, letting themselves be comforted by the crackling. She lifted her arms up in a stretch, before she sighed. He couldn't very well explain what happened next. Couldn't tell if it was a side effect from almost dying, or some weird organic trick, but when she peered at him, past her blanket, aglow from the fire, and oh so softly, spoke, it did something to him.

"Goodnight, Senty."

He felt his spark pound, as if desperate to escape his chest. Her optics closed, and he cleared his vocal processor. 

"Goodnight...Blackarachnia."

He pounded at his chest, hoping it'd tame his spark. It didn't. He offlined his optics, and sighed, arms folded. He had sand in his gears, his pede was in a bit of pain, his body felt sore, and from his reflection on his shield, his face could use quite the touch up, looking as if he belonged in a Cybertronian sewer system. So…

Why was he the happiest he's been in a long time?


	4. Heated situation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blackarachnia and Sentinel recall more of their past, midst their attempts at survival. Suffice to say, the heat between them is burning them alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a long ass time to do, but i REALLY hope you guys like it. Feedback of any kind is welcomed!

Blackarachnia was the first to awaken. She looked around, the sand around her was still covered in a sheet of darkness. Her internal timer showed the time as '4:27' in the morning. The sun would be up soon, and Sentinel cooking in his metal like a baked potato in an oven was something they definitely should avoid. So despite how much she wanted a few more moments of rest, she forced herself up, and reached her arms towards the heavens, keeping them there until she heard a pop. Much better. She picked up her webbing, and as she folded it up for storage, she glanced over at the still snoring Sentinel. He was threatening to fall over constantly in his slumber, picking himself up before he was able to fall, everytime his snore reached a plateau. It was annoying. Loud. Exhausting. Yet it made her smile.

"Still in the past, in more ways than you'll ever know."

She walked over, and kicked the shield from under him, causing Sentinel to cry out as he fell forward, falling onto his chin. He groaned as he sat up, dusting the sand from his favorite feature.

"You know, you could just push at my shoulder or something? Like a normal fem?"

"Case you haven't noticed, normal isn't exactly one of my attributes."

"Gee, never noticed. Why are we up already? It's still dark."

"It's the desert. Daylight means heat, heat means you have a repeat of yesterday. Sooner we get going, the sooner we can get back into the foliage, and hopefully where I can get something in my tanks. How close are we, you think?"

"Still pretty far, I think."

He stood up, and clicked on his high beams.

"Yeah, far. But we're closer than before, so there's that. You ready?"

After taking a quick sip of water, she nodded. She took a few steps ahead, before hearing a 'thud' behind her. Sentinel was on his knee, one hand onto the sand to keep himself from toppling over. She groaned. What was he pouting about now?

"Primus WHAT? Don't tell me you tripped over a rock or something like a moron."

There was no response. No glaring, no dentae bearing, no snappy comeback. She found herself suddenly rushing to him, getting onto her own knee, and holding onto his face. His optics looked dimmed, and his mouth tried to form words. It took a decent smack to his face to get his optics to focus.

"I...woo...sorry. I just sort of felt tired and my leg buckled."

She recognized the problem immediately; running low on energon. The symptoms were similar to overheating, but with one fundamental difference; his color fading dully, close to reaching gray. Oh no. Oh no, how was she doing to get him the energon he needed? She gave him another smack on his cheek, trying to get him focused on just getting them under some cover. They were weak, starved, and out in the open.

"Sentinel. Sentinel, focus, listen to me. Sentinel, I need you to walk. I need you to try and walk. I'll help you."

She wrapped his arm over her shoulder, and took a step forward. She was giving herself too much credit, and was sent to the ground, taking him down with her. He groaned, barely able to move. He tried to get up, really he did. Blackarachnia got up on all fours, trying not to let the panic set in, but what was she to do? She couldn't carry him THAT far, he'd be dead by that point. The only way they could make it back to the jungle was if they both walked, and walked fast. Okay think Blackarachnia. Breathe, and think.   
Option A, leave him to die, turning him into essentially fuel for Waspinator and whatever else was lurking around out here, as well as losing whatever cover he provided. Option B, turn into her spider mode and try to drag him across, essentially having him cooked by the time they got there, and wasting time, as well as energy. Not to mention that she needed him to contact his little buddies once they got a decent enough signal. Option C, somehow finding energon. 

"But I haven't sensed energon since we've BEEN here. The closest thing to energon is US-"

That was when it clicked. THEY had energon. SHE had energon. She grunted as she rolled him onto his back, and sat on top of him. He was trying desperately to find a sense of place, desperately trying to keep his spark chamber functioning. Blackarachnia looked at her palm, before groaning.

"This. Is going to be so gross. You owe me, and not just for saving your aft a third fragging time."

She chomped down on her palm, and watched the sudden flood of energon cascade down her purple flesh. Before a single drop could be wasted, she smacked her palm against his lips, lightly hissing as she started to feel the wound. So THAT'S what her bite felt like.

"Energon. Drink."

"Ene…"

His optics rolled around its socket like a marble, before they slowly settled on her. She felt his glossa slowly rake against her wound, and upon realizing just what it was, Sentinel grabbed onto her hand, and groaned as he lapped at the wound. It wasn't much in the slightest, but as he licked and sucked on the wound, she could tell it was working, as his optics sharpened and focused, color starting to return to his face. Blackarachnia tried to pull away, but Sentinel gripped onto her hand, moaning as his lips moved across her hand, trying desperately to drink a proper fill. She had no idea why, but watching him writhe under him, watching him lick and press his lips against her palm as if in worship, made a tingle run down her spine. It had to be in disgust. Once he had enough energon to put strength into his grip, she yanked her hand away, quickly wrapping it up in webbing she had stored in her subspace.  
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. His optics were on hers, a dribble of energon down his lip. Blackarachnia hated that look in his optics. Curious, tender, wanting. It was a look she had only seen in her past, and her dreams. He opened his mouth to say something, before she winced, quickly getting off of him.

"Get up. You've had your fuel, you can at least walk. Don't even talk about it, I did it to get off this primus forsaken island."

"Wish you would've just let me die, honestly."

He wiped the energon from his lip with the back of his hand, scowling. He managed to force himself up, scowling. The sun was starting to peak across the horizon, only making his expression darkening.

"Just go, lead on. It's already getting warm out here."

Blackarachnia scowled, suddenly feeding off his anger. She guided them straight ahead, keeping a good distance between them. They said nothing the entire trek.

\----------

It had taken them a good half a mega cycle or so before their pedes hit grass again. Blackarachnia brought out her lance, slashing away foliage. She wanted to explain why she was angry, but truth be told, she didn't even understand it. She was sure Sentinel didn't either, so it surprised him when he finally spoke up.

"Blackarachnia?"

She chose not to respond. How WOULD one respond to saving someone's life, and suddenly being angry about it? He didn't seem to mind the lack of response, as he pushed himself forward, to walk next to her, verses behind her. There was no thick foliage like the other part of the island, yet she still found herself slashing at whatever foliage was nearby, purely as a means of distraction.

"Look I...shouldn't have snapped. I'm sorry, really I am. You gave me some of your energon, even though we both desperately need it. A-and I know, I made it weird-"

He was cut off as he dodged one of her swings, nearly nicking his audial fins. She didn't even need to look in his direction to know the look he was making. Hopeful, ready to open his spark out to her. She lifted the lance, but before she swung, he stood in front of her, getting a firm grip on her shoulders.

"Blackarachnia. I'm sorry I'm...like this. I WANT to be grateful for what you did, because if I'm gonna be great, I HAVE to act like it."

Blackarachnia finally looked up at him, but before she could find a retort, she was suddenly still. She saw it.

"Sentinel-"

"No no no, this is major character development for me, let me have this. I have to say this, and I have to say this now-"

She dropped the lance, grabbed onto his face, and turned his helm. Right above them, on a cliffside, were large, bright, purple crystals. They were both completely silent for a moment, mouths agape. Cybertron could've gone through another golden war in the time they spent gawking, before they looked at each other, right in the optics.

"Energon?!"

They both suddenly made a mad dash towards the cliff, before halting.

"Woah, that's raw energon. A LOT of it. How are we going to go near it to harvest any of it?"

The thing about energon was, despite how essential it was, it was oh so finicky. If it didn't come from the main hub of Cybertron, pure and ready to drink, (picture it like the differences between drinking from a freshwater stream, and drinking it right from the ocean) it came in the form of sharp, strong rocks, where its properties were far too strong. From there, it can be put through a filter, where the impurities were removed, leaving only the essential liquid. It was a problem they were going to have to address after they figured out just how to get to it. Blackarachnia chewed on her claws, thinking. That was when she saw it.  
A plate billed toucan, flying in, and perching right on top of one of the crystals, pecking at it before losing interest and flying away.

"I have an idea. Stand right here, any closer and it'll mess up your circuits."

"What are you-"

She didn't let him finish as she transformed, and crawled up the cliff side, disappearing from view. She walked right in the middle of the crystals, and whistled. Quite the stockade here. Even more impressively, her system was handling it all perfectly, as if she wasn't in a complete landmine of energy. She walked to one crystal, and grabbed it in her fangs, grunting as she gave it a pull. Medium sized, enough to be a strain for her to move, but nothing that'd break her.

"Sentinel!"

"What?! You dying?"

"No! Organic half is unaffected! Hold out your shield!"

She grunted as she pushed it off the cliff, and peered over in time to watch him catch it in the shield, nearly toppling over from the sudden weight.

"I got it! Keep them coming, I'll let you know when we have enough!"

"Okay, but do NOT let them fall! They're SUPER fragile in this state! This alone is super risky!"

Blackarachnia went to fetch more, aiming for more of the pieces that were smaller, buried in the dirt, or smaller clusters that could be safely pulled out from the rock wall. It took a good ten minutes, of pulling, digging, tossing, yelling, before Sentinel had a good pile of energon shards piled up next to him. She scaled the cliff back down, and dusted the dirt from her claws as she joined him, watching him shake the grass nest from within his shield. 

"You put that there?"

"Yeah, to help cushion it. You took forever, had to do SOMETHING."

She had to hand it to him, it was a good solution. Simple, but Sentinel rarely ever had good ideas. He raised a brow as he looked at the pile.

"Uh...how are we gonna do this? We don't have a filter."

"We don't? Swore it was your chin. It's more or less the same size."

"Funny, but not helpful."

She shrugged. Least he agreed it was funny. She picked at her fangs with her claws, anything to help stimulate thought, before her optics glanced to his shield.

"What's the temperature point of your shield?"

"The...what?"

"Primus sake- how high of a temperature can your shield take?"

"Oh uh, around three hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Why?"

"Well we don't have a filter, but we can get a make one. If we can get a small fire going, boil water under the shield, we can melt the energon at a steady enough pace to not explode, while melting away the impurities for us to drink it."

"Since when could we do that?"

"Ah, right. You didn't pay attention in energon handling class. Come on, help me find some water, and something to hold it in for the steam."

Thankfully they didn't have to wander too far off. Brushing apart some foliage, she scanned around, and smelled exactly what would be helpful. She pulled the lance out, and dug it right into the ground, pushing the handle to dig up the dirt. Sentinel raised a brow.

"What...are you doing?"

"These things here- they're called sunchokes. They're a root that could handle boiling water."

She only found three, but seeing that they were of a rather decent size, she figured that was more than enough. After biting the ends off and carving holes into them, he filled them full of water, and walked back to the energon pile.

"Mind starting the f-what?"

Sentinel was gawking at her, as if incredibly confused. He lightly shook his helm, before stuttering some sort of reason.

"I-I uh...sorry. You're just...doing a lot. It's kinda complicated."

"Here, let me show you."

She had him build a small fire, and placed the large sunchoke on top of the fire. It was a few moments before the insides bubbled and boiled. Once it was hot enough to cause some steam, she carefully placed the shield on top, and some energon shards inside the makeshift bowl.

"Now watch this. See that, right there?"

Sentinel leaned down with her, and through the clearness of the shield, he could see little bits of blue liquid drip to the very center of the shield. Sentinel gave a light whistle.

"That's….wow. I didn't know you could do that?"

"Probably because you never once focused on that part of class. Even when I went out with you for study sessions."

"Er...truth be told, I just wanted an excuse to get you away from everyone. I never really paid attention to the actual work."

"I had that inkling. Honestly, I didn't mind it. I liked spending time with you and Optimus. You're lucky I'd scribble in the answers on your data pad, or you'd NEVER pass."

"Like you were any better! You never even got me an A! I got C's!"

"C's get degrees, anything more was suspicious. That wasn't your forté, you were more of the fighter type. Remember our sparring sessions?"

"The ones with Optimus? Definitely. But I always preferred the ones with just us."

"You remember the one where you totally repainted Kup?"

"That was YOUR fault!"

They both chuckled as the memory flooded both of their minds.

"Okay, try again!"

"Aw come on, Elita, you JUST got your paint done!"

"And you act like you're gonna hit me!"

"Oh you REALLY want it, don't you?"

Did his smirk hold a double meaning? Possibly. Not that she minded it. They both snuck into the training room to get an extra work out in, and both were braced with shock sticks, ready to have at each other. This was their way of flirting, odd as it was. Though in a way, it made sense; both of them had goals of being the best of the best, and both loved opportunities to show off for one another. Sentinel especially, as he gestured her forward with his helm, allowing her to have the first move. Ever the gentlemech, he was. She took her opportunity, and ran towards him. He stepped towards the side, just as she expected, which allowed her to jab her shock stick right into him. Sentinel exclaimed in surprise, and Elita tried desperately not to laugh.

"You stabbed my AFT, don't you laugh, you glitch!"

"I'm sorry! I-I swear I was aiming for your side!"

"Oh you got my side-THE SIDE OF MY AFT!!"

Sentinel had to cling onto the rack of paint next to him, rubbing his literally smoking aft.

"Elita if there's a mark I'm kicking YOUR aft. Be honest."

Sentinel put his shock stick to the side, held onto the rack with both hands, legs slightly parted. The lights in this hall were dim, but even in the low lighting, Elita could tell there was a gray, lightly smoking spot, right on his bumper. She felt optical lubricant swell in her optics, and tried oh so desperately not to laugh, and almost lost it when Sentinel suddenly whipped around, pointing a finger at her, with his audials perked up in embarrassment.

"Elita I swear to Primus if someone asks if me and Afterburn are an item, I'm pushing you during our next drilling."

"Oh don't be like that! I swear I didn't mean it!"

Elita placed her shock stick to the side, and wrapped her arms around the other's neck, putting her weight against him. She knew she was forgiven (at least partially) when Sentinel returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around her hips, lightly grumbling. 

"You're lucky I like you, Elita. Really, find another mech that can put up with your antics."

"You're telling me to try?"

"Okay, now you're just being rude."

They both shared a small chuckle at that, with him leaning down to meet her forehead. Even with the lack of lighting, Elita could still see the mech she had feelings for. Big, strong, with soft, kind optics. A small chuckle escaped her lips.

"Anyway I can say sorry?"

"Mmm...well, there's ONE way."

She felt him leaning further down, and saw his optics dim. She knew exactly what he wanted; the exact thing he had wanted since the day he met her. And here, and now, was the perfect moment she had been waiting for. She could feel the exhaust from his lips, and it made a small shiver run down her spinal ridge. She, despite being the one who constantly refused the contact, had dreamed about what it'd feel like. If they were soft, if they tasted like anything, if they'd whisper her name against her own. Just before she could have all of her questions answered, Sentinel had bumped into the rack behind him, knocking over all the paints.

"Son of a-!"

They both recognized the voice immediately. Kup. Minor. Kup turned around, optics covered in paint, making everything a blur of colors.

"When I find out who's in here past curfew, you're doing transformations until ya t-cog snaps!!!"

Sentinel reacted accordingly, swooping Elita in his arms, and bolting for their quarters as fast as he could. He shut the doors behind them, practically tossing Elita into her berth, and jumping into his own. Cheesecake snapped her helm up at the noise, relaxing once she saw just who was the cause of it. Them sneaking off in the middle of the night was nothing new, and neither was them booking it back into berth.

"Almost got caught again?"

"Cheesecake we messed up BAD-"

When they heard steps down the hall, they immediately pretended to still be in recharge. Kup opened the door, and after plucking his cy-gar from his mouth, let them have it.

"UP AND AT 'EM, YA SCRAPLETS!"

The entire room stood up to attention, standing in a line, backs straight, and hands formed in salute. The motion was so automatic, that they had to take a second to fully take Kup in. He wasn't just covered in a few odd colors or paint here and there. His ENTIRE frame was covered in paint, not leaving a speck of his original green or gray behind. He was covered in the brightest yellows, pinks, blues, and even red for his back side. Rad tried desperately not to buckle over and lose his mind.

"Jeez Kup, I know you told us you were due for a paint job, but this is a bit much."

There were little snickers amongst them all, only for them to immediately silence once they got a good look at Kup's snarling face.

"One of you bozos have been out past curfew. When I find out who did it, I'm gonna make ya do laps around the place for so long, ya great great SPARKLINGS are gonna have worn out tires!"

"Oh Primus, he was BOILING! I thought he was gonna start giving himself paint bubbles!"

Blackarachnia snickered alongside Sentinel, holding her stomach. What a crazy night that was.

"You know, I got it painted over, so you can't see it at first, but I didn't get it buffed out, so the actual mark is STILL on my aft?"

"You're kidding me. Why didn't you get it buffed out?"

"Well I WENT to go do it, but the medic there was HUGE. I'm talking, Ultra Magnus big. And when THAT looks at you, right in the optics, and in a voice that sounds like Unicron himself, says 'let me buff your aft', you learn to make a tactical retreat right out of there."

"Pffft!!!"

She couldn't take it. Her helm tossed itself back so hard in laughter, she fell right into the dirt, and even then, wouldn't stop absolutely roaring. Fluids ran down her face, her heels kicked up dirt; she had gone absolutely mad. It took her a good minute to regain her composure, turning to helm to look at Sentinel. His arms were crossed, but there was the faintest smirk across his lips.

"O-oh...I'm sorry, that's just so...you. if it helps, my guts hurt now."

"It does help. And what does that mean? 'It's so you'?"

"It means that as annoying as it is, you haven't really changed. And that's...not as bad as I thought."

"You haven't changed as much as I thought, and I GUESS it's not completely awful."

There was a chuckle shared between them, then silence. She stared up at him, and for once, she couldn't sense disgust on the others face. His face was no longer hardened by hesitation or confusion, but softened by finding something familiar. They both caught onto exactly what was happening, and both were grateful when she sat up to break the optic contact, looking back at the pool of energon pooled in front of them.

"Is it done?"

"Yep. Most leave it for an hour in a container to solidify it, make it easier for transport, but I don't think we'll wait an hour just to have something to chew on."

"You can have the first one."

Blackarachnia turned her helm to him, her feelers twitching in confusion.

"The great 'primer prime', offering the lowly organic to go first? My, what's the occasion?"

Sentinel shrugged, clearly not wanting to make optic contact with her.

"Well yeah, that way if you did it wrong, you'll be the one to suffer."

He hesitated for a moment, before scoffing.

"That and...well. You gave me your energon. I have enough in me until it's my turn."

She noticed his optics trail down to her hand. She swore, even under her webbing, she could still feel his lips pressed against it. She gave a chuckle, one that was made from more nerves than anything actually funny.

"Well, regardless of why, thank you."

She carefully took the shield full of energon, and, without thinking about manners in the slightest, tossed her helm back, allowing the fluid to run down her intake. She knew her gulps were loud and probably annoying, but as she saw her once empty tanks start to slowly rise to full, she didn't particularly care. She gave a loud sigh in relief as she slowly put the shield down, watching the energon dribble from her own lips. Surprisingly, Sentinel still didn't appear disgusted.

"I take it you're satisfied?"

"Yeah. My tanks haven't been full in...Primus knows how long. I'm surprised you didn't turn away."

"Wanted to see if you'd beat it after having your serving. I'm more or less used to the bug thing. Kinda. Much as I'll be able to, anyway."

She chuckled as she wiped her mouth, placing the shield back on the contraption.

"And for going a few minutes without insulting me, you get to have your serving. Give me the other shards."

They started the process over again, double checking that everything was spick and span with their makeshift purifier. As they waited, watching the shards slowly bubble and boil into pure liquid, Sentinel lightly sighed.

"You remember what happened AFTER Kup chewed us out? You know, until he got a whole new crease on his face plate?"

"I do."

The platoon winced, trying desperately to get their audials working again. Kup seemed to be finished, as he always ended his scolding by putting his cy-gar back in between his aged dentae.

"Ya kids wanna know why I'm so hard on ya?"

"Because you're old?"

"No ya dingbat!!"

Wingsaber earned a firm smack on his shoulder for that. Kup sighed, lightly rubbing his temple.

"No. It's because I care about you kids. Out there in the real field, coordination is everything. Every one of ya is too comfy, with the lack of decepticons 'round here. And I'm scared ya gonna let ya guard down, and get yourselves hurt. You guys, are ALL another part of my family. I can't watch over each of ya through the corners of the galaxy, so you guys gotta do it for me."

He took the hand of Rad and Metalhawk, the hands of Cheesecake and Afterburner, and finally, the hands of Sentinel, Elita one, and Optimus, putting all their hands in each other's.

"You guys are supposed to stay together. Fight together, fuel together, sleep together-Rad wipe that smirk off ya face. All of you need to stand here, and promise me something. That you'll keep each other safe. Ya got it?"

There was a pause amongst them all. Kup wasn't forcing anything. Wasn't barking commands. His grip wasn't even tight. Optimus nodded, chest puffed out and voice loud, determined.

"I promise, Kup Minor SIR!"

Sentinel followed suit.

"I Promise, Kup Minor!"

Elita nodded firmly.

"Promise, my Kup minor!"

You couldn't STOP Cheesecake from bouncing on her heels.

"You have MY Promise, Kup minor!"

Rad seemed hesitant, but shrugged.

"Ah, ya know I can't say no when there's pretty fems in here. You got my promise, Kup."

Afterburner looked Kup right in his optics and nodded.

"I promise too, Kup minor!"

Wingsaber gripped onto the hands in his own, smirking, yet determined.

"You can't STOP me from promising, Kup minor! I promise!"

Kup's optics gazed around the room. All of them returned the smile that was slowly creeping onto his face.

"You guys...are good kids. I'm proud to be ya minor, and I'm ready to push you guys to be your best. Let's start by giving ourselves a hundred transformations! Let's go, drop!"

Despite the groan from them all, they all took notice of each others grins. 

"The promise, you mean?"

"Yeah. We didn't...we didn't keep up with that promise, did we?"

"Not at all. Soon as we all got stuck on our own paths, we all separated. It's...disappointing, now that I think about it. Here, your energon is done."

She nudged the shield towards him, with Sentinel gratefully accepting his serving, energon pouring right into his intake. As well as down his cheek, and neck. She sighed as she pulled some webbing from her sub space, and once he put the shield down, she held onto his chin, and wiped the excess away.

"I get your hungry, but the least you could do is make less of a mess for me to clean. I've already saved your aft enough times, didn't think I'd need to play clean up."

Sentinel didn't say anything. He just held onto his empty shield, and stared at her. Blackarachnia knew Sentinel well overall, but she couldn't pinpoint what he wanted to say. He wasn't angry, or else he would've smacked her hand. He wasn't embarrassed, else he would've been grumbling. 

"Hey...Blackarachnia?"

There was something about the way he said her name. The fact that he even said it without being pressed. The fact that he hadn't said 'Elita one'.

"What?"

"I...I broke the promise to Kup too. I'm...partially to blame."

Blackarachnia wasn't sure why it was so solemnly spoken, as if he had come to some realization. She thought it was established, but Sentinel was rather slow, so she shouldn't be surprised. 

"Yeah, we both did. We-"

"No, listen."

He held onto her hand, halting her from cleaning his face further.

"I did a bad thing. And I'd like to fix it. So...let's make the promise again. Me and you. Let's promise each other that we'll take care of each other."

"This is sounding strangely permanent."

"N-no! You didn't let me finish!"

He looked worried about losing her interest, and he put the shield on his lap, using both of his hands to hold her own.

"I know we've been doing this just for each other's benefit. I know I can't force you to stay with the right side, because you're ALWAYS so stubborn. But if I can take care of you, at least until I can make sure you're safe, I'd like to. So promise me, until I can be assured of your safety, we stick together. Not for me. But for Kup."

Call her sentimental. But the thought of doing something for the sake of her old minor, made her sigh. She gave a light nod.

"Alright. Deal. When we secure each other's safety, we're done. And this isn't for you. This is for Kup."

"For Kup."

He gripped tightly onto her hands for a moment, before standing up, helping her lift to her pedes.

"Now let's pack it up, get going. We still have some light ahead of us, and we need to find a less secluded place to rest, this is way too open."

"Hey, careful, you almost didn't sound like an idiot."

She carefully emptied the sunchokes, and after forcing them down her throat (they tasted like bland, boiled potatoes, but she needed all the calories she could get), snuffed out the fire, and led the way forward, lance at the ready. Sentinel walked behind her, and after some time of a surprisingly comfortable silence, with nothing but birds and rustling leaves, she peered behind her.

"How's your ankle feeling?"

"It's...good, actually. Why do you ask?"

"You nearly died several times in the past two days. If a full tank of energon isn't helping you feel better, I'd be worried that something in you blew a gasket, and the last thing I need is to cut you open to fix something. A girl's dream, I'm sure."

"You know we had a real moment, why do you have to ruin that?"

"It's fun, and it's something to talk about during the literal hours of walking through the wilderness."

"So you think it's insults, or dead silence?"

"More or less, yeah."

"Well that's not true! Look, ask me a question, any question. Anything beats these insults, because while my feelings are strong as a rock, like my muscles, they still exist."

Something about that made her bark in laughter, barely making her able to swing at the foliage. She took a moment to think, before she smirked.

"Alright, you gonna tell the truth if I ask?"

"Course, Prime's honor. And since it's me, it's double honor."

'Idiot' was her immediate thought, before she came out with it.

"Have you and Optimus ever done some kinky slag?"

"...Blackarachnia, what, pray tell, the fuck?"

"Hey! You said you'd answer honestly! Either this, or the insults!"

Sentinel groaned loudly, and was clearly tempted not to answer, before Blackarachnia stopped, her optics glaring at him.

"Alright, alright! We did. A...few times. Me and Optimus knew each other for a while, and...well, we both had needs, we were both buddies, and we trusted each other. So yes, me and Optimus used to...fool around-STOP LAUGHING!"

Blackarachnia did no such thing, practically cackling as she continued on.

"I-I'm sorry! I couldn't help it! One more, one more! You guys ever do it thinking about me? Like together?"

"It's MY turn, dammit!!"

"I'll take that as a yes. As if I didn't already know. Alright, your turn."

"First of all, I hate you. Second, THIS, stays on the island. Third, you and Cheesecake ever do it?"

"No. Literally no matter how often you guys asked, me and Cheesecake weren't interested. Alright my turn. Why are you so primus forsaken stupid?"

His audials flopped back in humiliation. It was funny enough to be a good distraction for her. If only either of them knew exactly why this was a bad thing.

\-------

The remains of the fire laid in front of him. Still smoking, still smelling. He reached down, dipped his servo in the pool of energon below him. His glossa lapped it up, and he couldn't fight back a shiver. Someone was the cause of this. His feelers twitched, and he snarled lightly. Upon transforming, he marched on ahead.

"Intruders..threaten the colony. Must INCINERATE."

\--------

"Think we should settle here."

"You sure? We still have a little bit of daylight. Sure it's about a half a mega cycle, but it's something."

"Mm, while I see what you mean, I'm pretty exhausted. Saving your can so many times in a day left me pretty wiped."

"Guess you deserve THAT much."

Sentinel chuckled. They had halted next to a cave, and after doing a quick inspection, found it empty. It was definitely smaller than the other cave they had previously stayed in, but it was enough to keep them from the weather, and out of immediate sight. She sighed in content as she watched the light soon dim in front of them, taking the warm temperature with it. She sat down on her knees, and pulled out her usual web blanket. She wrapped it around herself, before her buggy optics focused onto Sentinel. He was sitting on his shield, arms folded across his chest. She sighed loudly, which caused his optics to shine down on her in interest.

"What is it, bug?"

"You're so stupid, I really wonder how you've survived up until now."

"Any reason for the update, or you just felt like giving me a reminder?"

"Both. Come on, idiot."

She lifted half of her blanket, with him cocking his helm to the side.

"I'm...not following."

"Primus-get off your stupid shield, sit under your half of the blanket."

"...are you okay? This is nice. You don't do nice. You do pessimistic, sarcastic, and tolerant."

"Because the temperature dropped like crazy, and you starting a fire here attracts attention, as well as pests. Come on, take advantage before I change my mind about being so generous, and just let you turn into an icicle."

Sentinel hesitated, before tucking his shield away, and sitting on the soil with her. He took his half, and wrapped it around himself. He gave a soft whistle, looking at the material.

"It's not...gross, or sticky. It's...soft."

"No slag. Can't sleep if I'm stuck."

"How'd you do this?"

"Well, learned early on that they can be weaved. Unstickies them."

Sentinel snorted, looking down at her.

"'Unstickies'? Not 'unsticks'?"

"...oh Primus, I'm catching your stupid."

Sentinel couldn't help but laugh at that, burying his face in his hand. It took a good moment before he recovered, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'll just unsticky myself from you-"

He realized exactly what he was doing, and pulled his arm away, as if scared she'd lash at him.

"S-sorry, I kinda got used to-"

"It's fine."

She didn't know WHY exactly, but she took his arm, and put it right back where it was, one hand in his, and the other keeping herself covered. There was a moment of pause, before he lightly coughed.

"Uh...this is?"

"You're a big mech, you have a big engine. Closer you are, more heat we can have circulate. That, and I can feel you leaving the cave. Case you think you get to run away from me. Don't make anything out of it."

"...right. Course."

She hoped he believed it, because she certainly wasn't. She couldn't, not with the throbbing of her spark. Not with the way she pushed herself closer to his side. The way the warmth from his engine felt more soothing than any flame. The way she felt content.

"Blackarachnia?"

"Hmm?.."

She could barely force herself to make that sound. She was close to drifting off into slumber, her optics refused to online, much less keep her audials functioning.

"Sleep well."

"Mhmm…"

She gave a soft nod, before completely drifting into recharge.

\-------  
It only took a few cycles before she found herself awake. Her internal clock showed only twenty cycles. Why WAS she awake? Was it Sentinel? She peered over at him, still finding him snoring along. Odd, it never woke her up before. She should be asleep, what with how warm she was, at his side, wrapped in her blanket. She fiddled with the servos that held her palm. Soft, yet strong. Firm. His arm was heavy, yet comforting, like a weighted blanket. Nothing was uncomfortable. So...why was she awake? Her optics flickered on and off, forcing her senses to come alive. She never woke up this early for no good reason. Just when she was about to drift back off into slumber, she heard a snap.  
Her entire frame was awake and focused. Something was there. Could be a deer, another raccoon, maybe even a bear. Primus, it was too dark to get a good look at anything. She wouldn't be struggling to see for very long. Suddenly, a sharp light pierced through the darkness, nearly blinding her. Then she saw it. A tall, bulky figure. Blue face, feelers, large, dagger like teeth. Heat. A weapon. She gave Sentinel a harsh shove, spark pounding quickly, adrenaline pumping.

"Sentinel. Sentinel! Sentinel, wake up!!"

His optics barely came online, before Blackarachnia heard two things. A bang, and a loud, proud proclamation. 

"FOR THE COLONY!!"

Despite the almost volcano like heat filling up the cave, Blackarachnia felt cold.

She was frozen.


End file.
